I'm Yours
by merderfanseriously
Summary: An AU Meredith/Derek Story. Meredith lives in Seattle, is a surgeon and has an 8 year old son. Derek moves to Seattle from New York after his divorce. Will they fall in love?
1. I'm Yours

I'm baaaack! Not only am I back, I'm back with a new story.

The title of this story is "I'm Yours," which was inspired by the Jason Mraz song. Unlike my first fic, Glorious Day, this story is AU (alternative universe). This is strictly a Meredith/Derek story, as will be any other fic I ever write.

I must say that due to getting a second job, I may not be able to update as often as I did previously and the chapters may not be as long, but I shall not deprive my readers of any Mer Der love. Don't get me wrong, there will be some slight drama, but this story will have a happy ending. Oh and smut. That will happen, not sure how much though because my writing it depends completely on my mood.

In "I'm Yours", Meredith has an eight year old son named Jordan. My inspiration for writing him is my eight and six year old sons. A lot of what Jordan does and says are things that my boys do and say. This story is dedicated to them.

I also want to mention my two e-friends, Steph and Julie. Julie, I will be eternally grateful to you for giving me the courage to put myself out there with my writing, Steph, you're always there when I need someone to talk to and you give me great advice, and to both of them for telling me that what I write is good. I heart you both.

Ok, enough talk. I posted the words of "I'm Yours", by Jason Mraz so you get an idea of the story.

**Well you done done me and you bet I felt it  
I tried to be chill but you're so hot that I melted  
I fell right through the cracks  
Now I'm trying to get back  
Before the cool done run out  
I'll be giving it my bestest  
And nothing's going to stop me but divine intervention  
I reckon it's again my turn to win some or learn some**

I won't hesitate no more, no more  
It cannot wait, I'm yours

Well open up your mind and see like me  
Open up your plans and damn you're free  
Look into your heart and you'll find love love love love  
Listen to the music of the moment babay sing with me  
I love peace for melody  
And It's our God-forsaken right to be loved love loved love loved

So I won't hesitate no more, no more  
It cannot wait I'm sure  
There's no need to complicate  
Our time is short  
This is our fate, I'm yours

Scooch on over closer dear  
And i will nibble your ear

I've been spending way too long checking my tongue in the mirror  
And bending over backwards just to try to see it clearer  
But my breath fogged up the glass  
And so I drew a new face and laughed  
I guess what I'm be saying is there ain't no better reason  
To rid yourself of vanity and just go with the seasons  
It's what we aim to do  
Our name is our virtue

But I won't hesitate no more, no more  
It cannot wait I'm sure

Well open up your mind and see like me  
Open up your plans and damn you're free  
Look into your heart and you'll find that the sky is yours  
Please don't, please don't, please don't  
There's no need to complicate  
Cause our time is short  
This oh this this is out fate, I'm yours!

Chapter one to follow at some point tonight after I get home and proofread it. Thanks to everyone for reading this and I hope you all enjoy it. Please comment or PM me because feedback motivates me to write more...please??

xoxo,  
Amber


	2. Loose Screws

**Alas, Chapter one. I hope that everyone enjoys this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I have a lot of ideas for this story, and as I said before, comments give me the encouragement I need to continue writing. I hope you like ****J**

**Chapter One: Loose Screws**

Meredith walked into the conference room and spied Cristina Yang, her best friend and head of cardio, standing in the corner. Cristina waved at her and Meredith walked across the room and stood beside her. She bumped her hip gently against Cristina's. "Hey," she greeted.

"Hey," Cristina said. "Do you know why the chief called us all here?"

Meredith looked around the room at the other attendings. "No," she sighed. "Probably something administrative. Just attendings were called." She turned to look at Cristina. "Do you have any chocolate? I skipped lunch today."

Cristina rolled her eyes. "No, no chocolate. Meredith, I swear. How do keep that figure with all the junk you eat?"

"I don't eat junk," Meredith protested.

"Right," Cristina nodded. "What did you have for breakfast this morning then?"

"Nosy much?" Meredith asked, raising her eyebrows.

"No, just trying to prove my point," Cristina smirked.

"Fine," Meredith grumbled. "Left over grilled cheese."

"Junkie," Cristina taunted.

Before Meredith could reply, Richard entered the room. "Hey everyone, thanks for meeting on such short notice," he said, standing at the head of the table.

"What's going on?" Owen Hunt, head of trauma asked.

"Well, as we all know, the head of neurosurgery position has been vacant since Dr. Nelson's retirement at the end of last month." Heads around the room nodded at this known fact.

"Has the position been posted yet?" Callie Torres, head of orthopedics, asked.

"No," Richard said. "But I've filled the position with the perfect candidate."

Richard waited for the buzz to die down in the room before he continued. "He's not an attending in this hospital," he continued, looking at Mark Sloan, head of plastics, with a smirk. "As a matter of fact, he doesn't even practice medicine in Washington."

"Who is he?" Arizona Robbins, head of pediatrics, asked.

"His name is Derek Shepherd," Richard said. "He's a neurosurgeon from New York and good friends with Dr. Sloan."

"Oh, great, another man whore," Cristina whispered to Meredith, who covered her mouth with the palm of her hand to keep from smiling. On Meredith's first day at the hospital, Mark had hit on her at the coffee cart. Luckily, Cristina had warned her about him beforehand, so Meredith had been prepared for him. She shot him down cold and told him that he didn't stand a chance in hell with her.

"Dr. Shepherd had a private practice in Manhattan, but had surgical privileges at New York Presbyterian and Mount Sinai. He's accepted the position here at Seattle Grace and will be arriving tomorrow, so I'd like for all of us to meet again tomorrow morning here so that he can get acquainted with everyone." The group nodded. "That's it. See everyone tomorrow."

Meredith and Cristina got up and followed the group of doctors out the door. "Do you know anything about this Dr. Shepherd?" Meredith asked her as they walked down the hall towards the elevators.

Cristina nodded. "Yeah, he's the one that removed that inoperable tumor from the six month old baby's brain. There was a huge article about it in the Annals of Surgery, remember?" Meredith stared at her blankly. "Meredith," Cristina groaned. "Get out more."

Meredith giggled. "Sorry, but if it's not pertaining to Spongebob or Star Wars, then forget it."

"See?" Cristina said, pointing at her as they moved into the elevator. "This is proof that having a kid warps your brain."

"I don't have a warped brain," Meredith protested.

"Right, and you're not a junk food junkie either," Cristina replied.

*****

Meredith set her jaw and glared at the wall. She had spent the entire afternoon in her office, catching up on paperwork and phone calls, but the constant banging and dragging of things across the floor in the office next to hers was driving her insane.

The hospital maintenance workers had been next door most of the afternoon, cleaning and getting the office ready for Dr. Shepherd tomorrow. Meredith understood that they needed to do their jobs, but so did she and they were making too much noise for her to concentrate on getting her work done.

Meredith made a list of things that she needed to get do before she left to pick up Jordan from a friend's house. She smiled at the thought of her eight year old son. When they first moved from Boston to Seattle a year ago, Jordan had a hard time adjusting to the change. Luckily, as time allowed, he got used to his new life and started to make friends. Jordan had a great personality and was well liked by his peers.

Meredith jumped as a particularly loud thump from the next room interrupted her reverie. She sighed, pushed her chair back and stood up. She really needed to get her work done and wouldn't be able to if the workers next door didn't stop with the noise. She walked across her office and opened the door, moving into the hallway. She noticed that the knob of her door was slightly loose and decided to inform the workers of that after she, very nicely, told them to keep it down.

Meredith smiled at a few of the nurses that passed her in the hall as she walked towards the future office of Dr. Shepherd. She stopped in the open doorway and raised her eyebrows at the sight. From all the noise she heard coming from this room in her office, she was sure there'd be a large crew working. Instead, there was only one maintenance worker. His back was facing her, giving Meredith a nice view of his ass. Holy crap he had a perfect ass and the jeans that he was wearing complimented that perfect ass immensely. She could look at that ass all day.

She finally peeled her eyes from his perfect ass and scanned his upper body. He had broad shoulders, a sculpted back evident even through his t shirt, and from what she could tell from behind, he also had a great head of hair. She cleared her throat softly, trying to make her presence known. The guy with the nice ass and great hair didn't turn around.

"Excuse me, sir," Meredith said, knocking lightly on the open door. The man turned around to look at her. Meredith inhaled sharply at the realization that this man's front was just as nice, if not nicer, than his back. He did have great hair, dark and thick, almost beckoning for her to rake her hand through it. He was wearing a grey Bowdoin t-shirt. Meredith racked her brain as to where that school was, but she was sure that it was located in one of the New England states. She looked at his face and he was smiling at her. He smiled with his eyes. She could tell from even across the room that his eyes were a gorgeous blue.

"Um, hi," she managed to say. Meredith knew she had a cheesy smile plastered on her face.

"Hi," the man replied, continuing to smile at her.

Meredith pointed to the wall that separated her office from the one she was standing in. "My office is right behind this wall and I know you have a job to do because Dr. Shepherd will be arriving tomorrow and I get it, I really do, but if I don't get my work done, the Chief is going to be on my ass about it," she paused, noticing the humor etched in his face. "Can you please hold it down?"

The maintenance man nodded. "No problem," he looked at her lab coat. "Dr. Grey, I've heard a lot about you." He held his hand out to shake hers. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Meredith was mesmerized by his voice and the way her name rolled off his tongue made her shiver inside. Meredith shook his hand and immediately felt the electricity at his touch. "I don't get to meet too many of the maintenance men often, but I did want to thank you for all the work you do around this hospital."

The man's eyebrows arched. "Maintenance?" He opened his mouth to say something, but Meredith interrupted.

"Oh, and if you have a second when you're done in here, could you please come and look at my doorknob? It wiggles a lot." She smiled at him.

"It wiggles?" he raised his eyebrows in amusement.

"Well, maybe jiggles. It feels like it might fall off," she said, automatically realizing just how stupid she sounded.

The man looked at his watch. "I actually do have a second," he said. "I can take a look at it right now."

"Oh, great!" Meredith exclaimed, turning to leave the room with the hot assed, great haired maintenance man right behind her. She walked up to her office door and wiggled her door knob. "See? It wiggles, or jiggles, or whatever," she said.

"It does," he agreed, his eyes twinkling. He leaned in to look at it, causing him to move in very close proximity to her. Meredith closed her eyes for a moment, breathing in his scent. He smelled amazing, too. "Oh, the screws just need tightened," he decided, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small instrument.

"Screws?" Meredith squeaked, opening her eyes. Was it wrong that her mind went straight to the gutter with that word?

He flipped the instrument open and tightened the screws. "Yeah, they were loose. There, it's fixed."

"What is that?" Meredith asked curiously, eyeing the gadget he had in his hand.

"It's a Swiss army knife," he said, closing it and putting it back in his pocket. "All maintenance men have one of these," he said, his eyes locking with hers for a moment until Meredith looked away.

"Uh…Thanks for tightening my screws." Her eyes got wide at the realization of what she just said. The man tried unsuccessfully not to laugh. "I mean, the door's screws…oh, God." She became flustered and could feel herself blushing.

He chucked. "Anytime, Dr. Grey," he replied. "I'm sure we'll see each other again, soon," he winked at her and turned towards Dr. Shepherd's office. "See you around."

"See you around. See ya," Meredith managed to say as she watched him walk down the hall. She wondered why she had never seen this maintenance guy before and what else needed fixed in her office so that she could put in a work order so she could see "Mr. Fix it" again.


	3. Man Hair

**Well, look! It's Chapter TWO!!**

**Thanks for the fabulous reviews! Oh, by the way, this story is Thatcher friendly. He actually plays an active role in Meredith's and Jordan's life. Although, in this story, Meredith doesn't give Thatcher part of her liver. As a matter of fact, he's not even an alcoholic. I absolutely love being in control of what happens!**

**Chapter Two: Man Hair**

"Jordan! Get a move on it! You're going to be late for school!" Meredith yelled up the steps. "You'd better not be up there playing that video game!" This was every morning before school. Jordan was stalling and Meredith was yelling. It was a day to mark on the calendar if Jordan got to school on time without Meredith raising her voice at him.

"I wasn't Mom," Jordan said, coming down the steps. "And it's a Nintendo DS."

"Whatever," Meredith sighed. "What were you doing then?"

"I was checking my armpits for man hair," he replied, flashing her a wide smile and sauntering past her and into the kitchen.

Meredith rolled her eyes and followed him. "Who told you about armpit hair?" she asked.

"Seth in my class," Jordan said, hopping up on the bar stool and taking a drink of his milk. "His big brother has man hair in his arm pits. Seth said that he puts this stuff on that smells stinky right here," he pointed to his arm pit, "and that stuff made his hair grow."

Meredith raised her eyebrows. "Let me smell your arm pits," she said, walking towards him. Jordan raised his arm proudly for his mother. At a few steps away from him, she could smell the Old Spice deodorant. "Where did you get deodorant?" she asked.

"I found it," he replied taking a big bite of his peanut butter toast.

Meredith frowned at him. "Where did you find the deodorant, Jordan? I want the truth," she said sternly.

"Promise you won't yell?" he asked. Meredith nodded. "I took it out of Poppy and Nana's bathroom," he said quickly.

"You stole your grandfather's deodorant?" Meredith yelled, crossing her arms over her chest and frowning at him.

"No," Jordan said quickly. "I just _borrowed _it, Mom. I didn't steal it, there is a difference you know."

"Oh, really? Please, tell me then what the difference is."

"Well," Jordan paused. "When you steal something you don't give it back ever. When you borrow something, you use it and then give it back." He sat back in his seat, proud of the answer he came up with.

"True, but when you borrow something of someone's, you tell them you're borrowing it. Does Poppy know that you _borrowed _his deodorant?" Meredith asked.

Jordan hesitated. "Not so much," he said. "But, it's all good, Mom. I'll give it back to him today after school. He won't even miss it."

"You make sure he gets it back," Meredith warned. "Go upstairs _quickly_, get it and put it in your backpack. When you get to school, it stays in your back pack. Got it? It does not come out for any reason during school, or lunch or recess and when Poppy picks you up after school, you give it to him immediately."

"Oh-Kay!" Jordan sighed, rushing out of the kitchen and up the stairs. "Miss Meredith Bossy Pants!" he yelled.

"I'm bossy because I'm the boss!" Meredith yelled back. "Remember who you're flapping your lips at and move it! You're late for school! And when you get to Poppy and Nana Susan's after school today, you apologize to Nana because thanks to you and your armpits, she'll have to smell Poppy all day!"

********

"She thought you worked in maintenance?" Mark asked incredulously as he and Derek waited in line for coffee. "That's hilarious. What did you do?"

Derek shrugged. "I didn't correct her on who I was and did what she asked me to do." He looked at Mark. "What?"

"Oh, you've got it bad," Mark teased. "Already bowing down at her beck and call."

"I don't have it bad. I can't believe you haven't sniffed her out yet," Derek said, paying for his coffee and walking with Mark towards the elevators.

Mark sniffed. "Meredith Grey is not my type." He sipped at his coffee and pushed the button for the elevator. He avoided Derek's gaze.

"She shot you down, didn't she?" Derek smirked as the elevator doors opened.

Mark rolled his eyes. "Like a dog," he admitted, following Derek into the elevator.

"I have more respect for that woman every day," Derek said. "So," he paused. "She's single?"

"Don't know, man," Mark smirked at him. "Thought you weren't interested."

"I'm not," Derek argued. "Just curious. What floor is HR?"

"Four," Mark answered. "I'm getting off at three," he pushed the third and fourth floor buttons.

"Admit it, man. You'd like to be at her service more often," Mark joked. Derek remained silent. Mark chuckled. "His first day and he'll be getting a piece of ass. I'm like a proud Papa."

"It's not like that, Mark," Derek argued. "It's just….I've heard a lot of great things about her as a surgeon and I'm looking forward to working with her," Derek confessed.

"And she has a nice ass," Mark added, stepping off the elevator as it arrived on the third floor. "Later, man."

Derek waited until the elevator closed. "She definitely has a nice ass," he muttered.

*********

"He was by far the most attractive maintenance man I've ever laid eyes on," Meredith informed Cristina as they walked into the hospital. "Most maintenance men are old and gray and they have pot bellies and have their ass cracks hanging out," she said. "Definitely not him. Seriously, Cristina, break something in your office and get a work order. He's flipping hot!"

"Meredith," Cristina groaned as they waited for the elevator. "Wipe your chin, you're drooling. He works maintenance for crying out loud."

"I don't care. Yesterday, he fixed my door knob and he said "the screws are loose", and my mind automatically went to the gutter. That never happens," Meredith reminded her.

"Wow," Cristina muttered as they walked onto the elevator. "Just when I think you're boring, you rise."

"That's what I'm saying," Meredith agreed. "He had me so freaking flustered that I couldn't think straight. Push four, I need to go to HR to fill out the new beneficiary forms."

Cristina pushed the fourth floor button. "I'll save you a spot in the conference room then. Don't forget to be there at ten to meet Dr. Shepherd, aka Man Whore Junior."

Meredith sighed. "Let him be a man whore," she shrugged. "He'll never be as good looking as my Mr. Fix It."

* * *

After Cristina got off the elevator on the third floor, Meredith looked at her watch and realized that she was going to be late for the Dr. Shepherd meeting if she didn't hurry the hell up. She darted from the elevator and made her way quickly towards the human resources office. She glanced at her watch, realizing that she only had about ten minutes before the meeting started. She sprinted the rest of the way down the hall. Panting and out of breath, she flung the door open to the human resources office and came face to face with her Mr. Fix-it.

"Dr. Grey," he smiled at her. "We meet again."

Meredith looked him over, noticing that his attire today was entirely different than yesterday. Yesterday he wore jeans and a t shirt. Today, he wore a light blue oxford shirt under a charcoal black blazer suit. He definitely cleaned up nice. "Hi…hello," she said in a high pitched voice. A high pitched voice that she was sure she never heard come out of her mouth before until now.

Mr. Fix-it wore that amused expression again. "How's the door knob today, Dr. Grey?" He asked. "It's not wiggling again, is it?" he teased.

Meredith felt her cheeks turn red. "No…no, um, I just needed to sign some papers here in this…place," the name of the place completely slipped her mind.

Mr. Fix-it chuckled. "Human resources?" he offered.

"Right, human resources," she breathed, smiling at him. "You look nice today," she said, changing the subject.

Mr. Fix-it smiled widely. "I have a meeting this morning. Meeting a lot of new people. I have to look my best." He looked at his watch. "And I'm sorry to say this, but I have to get to that meeting. Good bye, Dr. Grey. I'll see you soon." He winked at her and walked down the hall.

Meredith took a moment to replay what just happened in her mind before rushing into human resources to fill out the necessary forms. She was ten minutes late for her meeting when she finished up and she hurried down the hospital hallways to her destination.

When she got to the conference room, she flung the door open and nearly ran into Richard. "Oh, Meredith, there you are," Richard said.

"Sorry I'm late, Chief, I got tied up at HR," she explained.

"No problem, Meredith, I'd like for you to meet our new head of neurosurgery, Derek Shepherd. Derek, this is Meredith Grey, head of general surgery." Meredith watched as Derek Shepherd turned around and flashed her a knowing smile. He walked towards her and offered his hand for her to shake it. Meredith's mouth dropped.

"Dr. Grey," he nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you for the third time in twenty four hours," he winked. Oh, hell no! This had to be a bad dream! A freaking, flipping nightmare! Her maintenance man, her Mr. Fix-it, who left her all flustered and tongue tied, was the Derek Shepherd; Seattle Grace's new head of neurosurgery. Meredith groaned inwardly. She was definitely screwed and this time it would take more than a Swiss army knife to fix it.

**:)**** You all rock! Oh and so you all know, the man hair scene was actually Monday morning's conversation with my eight year old….**


	4. Personal Space

**Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy or the characters, except for Jordan, he's mine.**

**Thanks for the reviews! **

**Chapter Three: Personal Space**

Meredith avoided his stare. She kept her eyes trained to the floor as Richard went on and on about Dr. Shepherd's capabilities. All she knew was that she had completely humiliated herself by insinuating that the new head of neuro worked for maintenance. What was worse was that he totally played into it, not even bothering to correct her. Stupid man whore, anyway.

"What's wrong with you?" she heard Cristina whisper from beside her. Her elbow nudged into Meredith's side.

"Nothing," Meredith whispered back, noticing that Richard had stopped talking and staff started leaving the conference room. "I'll tell you later," she said a little louder. "I have to check on a few patients." Meredith walked quickly towards the door, keeping her eyes straight in front of her. She could feel his eyes following her as she left the room.

Meredith had made it halfway to the nurse's station when she felt someone come up behind her, grab her elbow and guide her into the empty stairwell. He had cornered her like a rat.

"Dr. Shepherd," she addressed him, looking around quickly to make sure there was no one else in ear shot.

"Dr. Shepherd?" Derek asked with a smirk. "Yesterday and this morning I was the maintenance man. You put me to work, remember?"

Meredith looked at him briefly. "I apologize for my confusion, Dr. Shepherd. I assure you that I did not mean to insult you."

Derek grinned. "I wasn't insulted at all. I was actually quite amused. You're very bossy, Dr. Grey." He stepped closer to her.

Meredith felt the heat rise in her body as he got closer to her. It took all she could not to jump him on the spot. Damn hormones. "I am not bossy," she argued, taking a step back. "I wouldn't have bothered you yesterday if it wasn't for you banging and pounding and dragging things along the floor." She crossed her arms over her chest.

Derek took another step towards her. "I'm glad you did bother me. Why don't you bother me again, say Friday night? We'll go out to dinner and eat big chunks of carbs in a basket." He placed his hand gently on her hip. Meredith's heart skipped a beat as the electricity ran though her at his touch.

"No," she managed to say, moving out of his way again. Her legs felt wobbly as she avoided his penetrating gaze. "Stop looking at me like that!" she demanded.

"Like what?" He asked.

"Like your picturing me naked," she accused. He smiled at her. "Dr. Shepherd, this is inappropriate. You get that, right? There will be no dating. Our relationship will remain strictly professional. Understand?" She somehow managed to turn and move her wobbly legs through the exit.

Derek sighed as he watched her go. Man she was hot when she was bossy.

* * *

"So, what's this I hear about you mistaking Dr. Shepherd for the cleaner?" Cristina said as she plopped down in the chair beside Meredith in the cafeteria.

Meredith looked up from the book that she was reading. "It was the maintenance man and who told you that?"

Cristina took a big bite of her apple and chewed for a few moments. "I heard it from the nurses on three. You know gossip spreads like syphilis around here."

"Apparently," Meredith said wryly. "He asked me out," she said softly.

"On a date?" Cristina gawked.

"Yes, on a date," Meredith said.

"Did you say yes?" Cristina asked, genuinely interested in her answer.

"I told him no and it was inappropriate for him to ask me out," Meredith said.

"Well, you do kind of owe him," Cristina reminded her.

Meredith raised her eyebrows. "Owe him for what?" she demanded.

"He did fix your door knob. If it weren't for him, it would still wiggle," she smirked.

"So not funny," Meredith warned, flipping the page of her book.

"You know what is funny?" Cristina asked leaning closer to her. "Spaghetti butt."

Meredith rolled her eyes, "You will never let me forget that, will you?"

"Nope," Cristina said, grinning at her. "You sat on my dinner. That is a memory that is fixated in my mind."

Meredith tried not to smile. "I had entirely too much tequila that night. I was wasted."

"Yep," Cristina agreed.

"Oh, listen to you!" Meredith growled. "What person puts their dinner on their bed?"

Cristina blinked. "Someone who lives in a dorm with a tequila drinking roommate who loans out the table that we did have for a beer pong party."

Meredith and Cristina were dorm roommates all through undergrad at Dartmouth. They became best friends instantly. When they started medical school, Meredith decided to stay at Dartmouth and Cristina moved back to California to go to Stanford. They stayed in touch despite the distance between them.

"Oh, right," Meredith giggled. "Sorry, those days are kind of sketchy in my brain. I was a mess!"

"Until you got yourself knocked up," Cristina said. "You were walking the path of destruction until Jordan came along."

Meredith nodded, a smile forming on her face. "Jordan definitely saved my life," she agreed.

* * *

"I'm not going to yell," Meredith said as she paced in front of the group of resident's with the mortified expressions. "Yelling would be a waste of my time and quite frankly my time is valuable. Instead, I've decided to try something with all of you that works well with my son. You all seem to be at his level of intelligence, if not slightly below." She motioned to the charts scattered along the counter at the nurse's station. "These charts? Sloppy. Clean them up. The mile high pile of lab results? Get them to the right place. The supply carts? Fill them up." She paused as she scanned the group critically. "Whoever completes their assigned tasks correctly, _the second time around, _will scrub in with me on my kidney transplant this afternoon."

"Really, Dr. Grey?" One of the residents asked in awe. "That's…wow!"

Meredith crossed her arms over her chest, noticing the incredulous expressions on their faces. None of them moved from their spot. "Disperse!" She held back a laugh as they all fell over each other, trying to get where they needed to be.

Meredith turned to Nurse Tyler who was looking at her in amusement. "Bribery works for my six year old nephew, too," he informed her, offering her the charts for her afternoon surgeries.

"Like a charm," she smiled, taking the charts and heading for the elevator. She rounded the corner and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw who else was waiting. This hospital apparently wasn't big enough. Maybe he wouldn't notice she was there because he seemed to be preoccupied with pushing the buttons on his phone. She shuffled closer to him, assessing the situation. She was almost ready to turn and take the stairs when he looked up and smiled.

"Seattle has ferry boats," he stated, snapping his phone shut.

Meredith turned her back towards him. She couldn't look into those eyes because then she would be under his spell. That would be bad, right? "Yes," she agreed, rolling her eyes.

"I've been living here for a week and I never knew there were ferry boats. Now I'll have to like it here. I'm from New York, genetically programmed to dislike anywhere besides Manhattan." He followed her onto the elevator and pushed the button for the third floor. "I have a thing for ferry boats."

Meredith avoided looking at him, but being in close proximity in the elevator caused her to breathe in his scent. God he smelled good. "I'm not going out with you," she blurted. Meredith, what the hell?

"Did I ask you to go out with me?" he asked, not turning around. "Do you want to go out with me?"

"No," she said quickly. "We work together. It's unprofessional. Our offices are beside each other. Completely inappropriate," she was sure that she had the ability to form complete sentences, but it just wasn't happening at this point.

"Or it could be fate," he said, looking back at her.

"I'm drawing a line. There's a big line," she tried to convince herself.

Derek turned to look at her. "So, this line. Is it imaginary or do I have to get you a marker?"

It was those eyes. She was sure of it, because in seconds she'd dropped her charts and had him plastered up against the wall of the elevator, smothering her lips with his. He kissed her back with just as much urgency, slipping his tongue into her mouth to fully taste her. She felt his hands all over her, running along her back and down to her ass. His hands were on her ass. So much for personal space. His hands moved to cup her face so that he could kiss her deeper. Meredith was sure that this whole situation was his fault.

They broke apart suddenly when they heard the elevator bell ring. She quickly picked up her charts just as the doors slid open and a large group of people entered. She breezed by him, not looking at him once. He watched her walk quickly down the hall. "We'll talk later?" she heard him say.

* * *

Derek had every intention of talking to her about what happened between them in the elevator. But when he walked by her office later that day, her office was dark and she was nowhere to be found. They really needed to talk about this. He looked at the surgical board and discovered that she was in OR 3 with a kidney transplant.

He snuck into the gallery, sitting in the far back corner. The last thing he needed her accusing him of was being a stalker. He watched her as she instructed a resident about the procedure she was performing. She spoke to him with patience and answered his questions thoroughly. He could sit there and listen to her voice all day.

His move from Manhattan to Seattle was a new start. Leaving everything behind and moving on. He had no intentions of getting involved with anyone right away. That was, until he met Meredith Grey. She was…something. The first time he saw her in the doorway of his office, he was immediately attracted to her. Her mesmerizing green eyes and the way she moved her hands around when she talked, or rambled, made his whole body tingle. The woman was breathtaking.

He had never felt those feelings before, he knew that much. Not even for his ex wife even after eleven years of marriage. He loved her, that was not a question, but he wasn't sure that he was in love with her. In the beginning they had a great marriage. They became successful and both were focused on getting their careers off the ground. But then, around five years in, Derek wanted more. He wanted a family and they had decided right after they got married that once they were established in their careers, they would add kids into the equation. It was something that Derek had always hoped for, coming from a family of five children.

So, one night, he brought it up and didn't get the reaction that he thought he would. She had decided for the two of them that kids were no longer something that she wanted because they would get in the way of her career. Derek had accepted her decision without an argument, secretly devastated that he would never get the chance to be a father. His way of coping was to drown himself in his work.

He became unhappy in his marriage. She was unhappy, too. It wasn't until he walked in on her, in their bed, with her boss did he realize the extent of his unhappiness. He moved out immediately and contacted his attorney. They were divorced eight months later.

Shortly after that, Richard Webber from Seattle Grace called. He offered him the position of head of neurology at his hospital. Derek accepted the offer immediately, needing the chance to start over. Besides, Mark was in Seattle.

Derek and Mark had been friends since the fourth grade. Mark pretty much lived with the Shepherd's because his parents wanted nothing to do with him. Although they were best friends, Derek and Mark were as different as night and day. Mark was a player, moving from woman to woman. Derek believed in soul mates, true love and happy ever after.

After graduating from Colombia Med together, Mark moved west to Seattle Grace for his internship, stayed there for his fellowship and was offered head of plastics. He had often told Derek after his divorce that he needed to move out with him so that they could get a bachelor pad together and be 'two men on the prowl'. It wasn't until Richard's call that Derek had actually decided to make the move.

So, here he was, not even in Seattle for a week and he was falling hard and fast for the amazing lady in the operating room below him. Was it wrong? He didn't know. He didn't care, either. All that he did know was the feeling he felt when he looked at Meredith Grey. A feeling that he knew would never go away.


	5. Flying Peaches

**Thank you to everyone for your feedback. I am ecstatic that everyone likes it so far!!!**

**Chapter Four: Flying Peaches**

"Mom, I want to join cub scouts," Jordan informed Meredith on the way to school.

"Join what?" Meredith asked, confused. She glanced at him briefly in the back seat.

"Cub scouts, Mom," he rolled his eyes. "You know the boy club."

"Oh," Meredith said. "Boy club?"

Jordan sighed. His mother was completely clueless. "Only boys can join cub scouts, Mom. I'm in second grade this year, so I will be a wolf cub. Can I join?"

"Well," Meredith paused. "What do you do in wolf scouts?"

"Cub scouts," he clarified. "You do nice things for people, like helping old people cross the street and keeping the earth clean. Then, you get badges. Oh! Tyler told me that we go on camp outs, too. Can I join?"

"How much is it?" Meredith asked, pulling into the drop off lane at Jordan's school.

"One hundred dollars," Jordan replied.

"What?!" Meredith turned to look at him. "You're serious?" Jordan howled in laughter. Not only was his mother clueless, she was also gullible. "Jordan," Meredith warned. "I'm warning you. How much is it?"

"Its thirty dollars, but you could give me a hundred," he said, smiling widely. "I'm good for it."

"I think not," Meredith said. "Have a good day at school and don't forget your back pack." She scanned the back seat. "Where's your back pack?"

"Hanging up, beside my Yankee's hat," he replied, grinning at her sheepishly.

"At home?" Meredith could hear her voice rising.

"Yep, you told me I had five seconds to get to the car. Five seconds didn't give me enough time to get all my stuff."

Meredith groaned. "Jordan, I am going to…" she stopped herself. "Go to school and I will run home and get your back pack. I will be back in ten minutes. Move!"

Jordan unhooked his seat belt, hopped up, and kissed Meredith's cheek. "Love you, Mom," he smiled at her as he opened the back door. "Try not to get stressed out today," he told her, slamming the door behind him.

***

Meredith was half listening at the staff meeting as Richard went on and on about new equipment that he planned on purchasing once the hospital got their new budget. She held her phone under the table and sent her step mother, Susan, a text message; reminding her that she would be picking up Jordan after school today because he had a dentist appointment.

Meredith could feel someone staring at her. She scanned the group of doctors, all engrossed in what Richard was saying. She craned her neck to look behind her and noticed that there was, in fact, someone staring at her. Her eyes met the dark blue ones of Derek Shepherd. He smiled softly when she met his gaze. She gave him a half smile back.

Meredith looked down at her phone that had started vibrating. She frowned when she saw that it was Jordan's school. She quickly got up, flashed her phone to Richard to let him know she needed to take the call and walked out into the hallway.

"This is Dr. Grey," she answered into the phone.

"Hello, Dr. Grey, this is Mr. Thompson. I'm the assistant principal at Roosevelt Elementary."

"Yes, Mr. Thompson, what's wrong?" Meredith asked, panic creeping up inside her. The school principal had never called her, ever, so this couldn't be good. "Is Jordan okay?"

"Oh, yes, Dr. Grey, Jordan is fine," he paused. "However, there was a slight problem during lunch this afternoon. Jordan and a few other students started a food fight and all were brought to my office. Their recess time has been taken away for the rest of the week, but Jordan is very upset and says that he wants to go home."

"Oh," Meredith answered. It wasn't like Jordan to misbehave in school. Granted, he was spunky and liked to test his limits, but he knew when to quit.

"Dr. Grey, normally, I would just send a child back to class, but he's very upset and I don't feel that it would be in his best interest to keep him here today. Is there any way you can pick him up?" Mr. Thompson asked.

"Uh, yeah…yeah, I can come by quickly to get him, that's not a problem. I'll be there in about a half hour," Meredith said.

***

Meredith opened the door to her office and ushered Jordan into the room. She turned on the lights and watched helplessly as he went over to the couch in the corner and plopped down. He curled himself into a ball and remained silent. He had been silent when Meredith went into the school to get him and was silent the entire ride from his school to the hospital. When she'd ask what happened, he'd pull his Yankee's ball cap down further over his eyes and tell her that he didn't want to talk about it.

"Are you hungry?" she asked, placing her coat on the arm of the couch.

"No," Jordan said shortly. "I had lunch," he said, his tone suddenly softer.

Meredith wasn't sure what to say to him. She perched on the edge of the couch and looked at him sympathetically. She tried to change the subject to get him to talk more. "When do you need your thirty dollars for cub scouts?" she asked softly, rubbing his back.

Jordan sat up suddenly. "I don't want to join cub scouts now, Mom! It's stupid. It's for stupid kids who want to go on stupid camp outs!" he yelled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Okay," Meredith said, taken aback by his outburst. "No cub scouts then." She looked at her watch. "I have to go check on a few patients and then we will go to your dentist appointment. Please stay in my office and do not wander around the halls like you did the last time you were here."

"I just wanted to see the dead people," he argued. "Dead people are cool."

Meredith smiled slightly. "Eight year old little boys are not permitted in the morgue."

"Figures," he shrugged.

Meredith kissed his cheek and grabbed her lab coat of the wall hook. She turned in the doorway to look at him. "See you later, alligator," she said, grinning when she saw his mouth turn slightly upwards into a smile.

"After while, crocodile," he replied.

****

Derek sat at his desk in his office sorting through paperwork when he heard yelling coming from Meredith's office. She had left in a hurry earlier that day and when he asked what was wrong, no one seemed to know. He was genuinely concerned about her and the yelling in her office just now did not make it better.

He waited a few moments and didn't hear anything else. He needed to make sure that she was alright, though. He got out of his chair and walked out of his office, down the hall and stood in her doorway. He looked around the room and noticed that it was empty, but her large leather chair was facing away from him and it was turning from side to side.

"Everything okay in here?" he asked, looking at the chair. The chair stopped moving, but remained facing away from him. "Meredith?" Derek asked again.

He heard a giggle from the chair and then a high pitched, "Yes? This is Meredith."

Derek furrowed his brow. He moved to stand directly in front of her desk, noticing that the person in the chair was wearing Sketchers and a blue baseball cap. He smiled inwardly and decided to play along. "Is everything okay in here, Meredith?" he said in amusement, crossing his arms over his chest. "I heard yelling."

Jordan giggled again. "Everything is A-okay," he squeaked. "I saw a…a spider. I'm afraid of spiders. I scream like a little girl when I see one."

Derek tried unsuccessfully not to laugh. "I don't know. That yelling didn't sound like a girl. It sounded like someone who is almost a man."

"With man hair?" Jordan asked in his regular voice.

"Man hair?" Derek chuckled. "What's man hair?"

"You know, the hair that comes out of your armpits," Jordan said. "All men have it."

Derek nodded. "Well, that yelling definitely sounded like an almost man who would be growing armpit hair very soon."

"Wow, it did work," Jordan said.

"What worked?" Derek asked. "Who am I talking to?"

"Umm, Meredith," Jordan squeaked again. "I'm Meredith and this is my office. The door says my name on it."

Derek rolled his eyes. This kid was too much. "Hey! There's the spider!" he exclaimed.

He smiled widely when the chair turned around quickly and he came face to face with one of the cutest kids he'd ever seen. "You don't look like Meredith to me," Derek said.

"Oh, crap!" Jordan said, knowing that his cover was blown. "Okay, I'm not Meredith," he confessed.

"I know," Derek said. "May I ask who you are?"

"Nope," Jordan said.

"Why not?" Derek asked.

"Because I know stranger danger," Jordan said.

"What's stranger danger?" Derek asked.

"Are you a doctor?" Jordan asked.

"Yes, I am," Derek nodded. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you don't know a lot. Aren't doctors supposed to know a lot?" Jordan asked.

"I know a lot," Derek argued.

"You don't know what stranger danger is and what man hair is, so, no you don't," Jordan said. "My mom is one hundred times smarter than you."

"How so?" Derek said. This was the most interesting conversation he'd had all day. One thing was for sure; this kid, whoever he was, was a trip.

"My mom is the smartest person in the world. She can do fractions and spell big words like 'Mississippi'," Jordan informed him.

"Even smarter than your dad?" Derek asked.

Jordan's face fell. "I don't have a dad. Because of that, I can't join cub scouts."

Derek frowned. "You can't join cub scouts because you don't have a dad?" he asked.

"Yes," Jordan said, his head down.

"Who told you that?" Derek asked, suddenly very protective over this child. He lost his dad when he was ten, so he knew what it was like not to have a father. It was nonsense that this little guy couldn't join cub scouts because he didn't have a father.

"Kaden, in my class. He told me at lunch today that I couldn't join because my dad would need to go with me on the campouts. He said that I would have to join girl scouts and sell cookies so my mom could help."

Derek frowned. "That wasn't very nice."

Jordan shook his head. "Nope, so I threw my peaches at him."

"Uh oh, what happened then?" Derek prodded.

"I got in trouble and had to go to the principal's office. Then my mom had to come and get me, so here I am," Jordan said.

Derek raised an eyebrow. He looked around Meredith's office and noticed there were several pictures of her and the little boy he was currently talking to. He looked back at Jordan, who was looking cross eyed at him. "Who is your mom?" he asked. He knew the answer; he just wanted to hear it out loud.

"Dr. Meredith Poopy-pants Grey." Jordan said with a wide smile.

Derek laughed and noticed that the boy was wearing a Yankee's baseball cap. "You like the Yankees?" Derek asked.

Jordan nodded. "Best baseball team ever," he said. "I went to a game for my sixth birthday. My mom took me. Rodriguez hit a home run into our section and it landed right in Mom's purse. After the game he signed it for me."

"Really?" Derek asked, impressed. "You'll have to show me that sometime."

"You can come over to my house. We can play the Wii," Jordan said.

"It's a date," Derek nodded. "Want to see more Yankees stuff?" he asked.

"Definitely!" Jordan said, "Where?"

"My office," Derek said, holding his hand out to him. "By the way, we never did meet officially. I'm Derek Shepherd. And you are?"

Jordan reached out and shook Derek's hand. "Patrick Star."

**Leave me love!!!! I'm curious to see everyone's reactions to the Derek/Jordan meeting.**


	6. Secret Feelings

******This will probably be my last update before Thanksgiving, so I wanted to wish everyone a very safe and happy holiday. Eat lots of turkey and pie and...well, whatever else people eat on Thanksgiving.**

Not sure how I feel about this chapter…..eh.

Love you all! 

******  
**Chapter Five: Secret Feelings

"You sure left in a hurry this morning," Cristina said, coming up beside Meredith at the nurse's station. "Where was the fire?"

Meredith sighed. "It was the school principal. Apparently Jordan started a food fight today in the cafeteria. I had to go and pick him up."

Cristina snorted. "A food fight? Hilarious! How'd you get such a cool kid, anyway?"

Meredith rolled her eyes. "Starting food fights at school is not cool. He won't tell me what happened but whatever it was, it definitely had him upset. I'm not quite sure how to address this. He needs punished for his behavior, but I'd like to get to the bottom of why he did it first."

Cristina shrugged. "Maybe another kid was teasing him."

Meredith glared at her. "Why would another kid tease him? He's a great kid."

"It happens, Meredith. They're kids and kids are cruel."

"Well, if that's the case, Jordan will give me the names of the kids and I will go into that school and take care of it myself," Meredith spat.

"Yeah, and doing that will make the kids stop teasing him," Cristina rolled her eyes.

"Well, what should I do then?" Meredith asked.

"Nothing," Cristina said. "Next week they'll all be friends again."

Meredith sighed, "You know, what you're telling me makes sense, but then I think; I'm getting parenting advice from Cristina?"

Cristina nodded and put her hand on Meredith's shoulder. "Now I'm going to give you relationship advice. Your Mr. Fix it was very concerned about where you went this morning."

"So?" Meredith asked, although she could feel the butterflies fluttering in her stomach at the idea that Derek Shepherd was concerned about her.

"So, you need to try him on for size. He's obviously interested."

"I…can't," Meredith said. "No."

"Meredith," Cristina warned. "Do us all a favor and get yourself laid. Please."

"I'm not ready," Meredith argued, shaking her head.

Cristina stepped closer to her. "Mer, it's been almost nine years. Not all men are like Charlie sperm donor Griffin."

Meredith shook her head again. "I can't let myself fall for another man, Cristina. Charlie ruined me. He left me alone and pregnant," she paused. "I'm better this way, by myself. Besides, no man would ever want a kid that wasn't theirs. Face it. I have a lot of baggage."

She had met Charlie Griffin at one of the most vulnerable times in her life. It was her second year of medical school and a lot was going on at that time. Her mother, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and lived in a nursing home, had passed away. Because her mother was a famous surgeon, the news of Ellis Grey's death hit newspapers all over the country.

Even in Seattle; the city that Meredith had lived in until she turned five. At that time, Meredith had moved to Boston with her mother, leaving her father behind. After the move, Meredith only heard from her father on birthdays and Christmases and once he had more kids, his contacts were few and far between. It wasn't until Thatcher read about Ellis' death that he contacted Meredith again.

So, using tequila as her crutch, Meredith maintained her 4.0 GPA at school during the day and spent her evenings in the bars. One of those drunken nights, she met Charlie Griffin, Jordan's father. They started an alcohol induced relationship, screwed like rabbits and somewhere along the way, Meredith fell in love with him.

She found out she was pregnant with Jordan in her second year of medical school. When she told Charlie, he flat out told her that he wasn't interested in being a father and it was completely up to her if she decided to keep it. He wanted nothing more to do with her or their baby and he took off.

Meredith didn't believe in abortion, but knew that if she had the baby, finishing medical school and her residency would be extremely difficult. She had decided at that time that she would give the baby up for adoption once he or she was born and that was the plan, until she had heard his heartbeat for the first time. That night, instead of calling adoption agencies, she called nanny brokers.

Meredith figured, with all of the money in her mother's estate that was left for her, she could get an apartment and hire a nanny for the baby when it came. During all of this, she remained in contact with Cristina, who did nothing but support her in her decision. Cristina even flew out to be with Meredith when she gave birth; she was the one that cut Jordan's umbilical cord.

Susan and Thatcher also came out to be with Meredith when Jordan was born. Jordan was their common ground and Meredith's relationship became less strained with them once he arrived. After all, they were Jordan's only grandparents and during those first few weeks at home with Jordan, Susan was a god send to her. Meredith was sure that if Susan had not been there to help her, she wouldn't have been able to do it on her own.

When Meredith and Jordan moved to Boston so she could do her residency at Mass General, she enrolled him in the hospital daycare there and hired an as needed nanny for the evenings and nights. At times, Susan and Thatcher would fly to Boston to spend the week with Jordan, allowing Meredith to dedicate her time to the hospital.

In time, Meredith became a very successful surgeon, choosing the same path that her mother took in general surgery. As years progressed, Dr. Meredith Grey became a common name in the Annuls of Surgery.

After completing her residency and fellowship in Boston, Richard Webber from Seattle Grace Hospital was on the phone offering her head of general surgery at his hospital. She was sure that Cristina had something to do with it, knowing that she had just accepted head of cardio there. Meredith debated it for awhile and finally decided that it was in hers and Jordan's best interest to move to Seattle. Jordan would be closer to his grandparents and Meredith would have more help. The move just made sense. They made the move a little over a year ago, and things were going well.

Cristina shook her head. "I'm sorry, but my godson is not baggage. He's awesome and any man that can't see that isn't worth your time."

"And you think Mr. Fix it is?" Meredith asked.

Cristina shrugged. "You'll never know unless you try him on." She smirked and looked at her watch. "Hey, I have a valve replacement in ten minutes. See ya!"

Meredith smiled at her as she watched her walk away. She would admit that Derek Shepherd brought out feelings in her that she hadn't felt in a long time. But she had a son, and she was sure that men like Derek Shepherd would run for the hills once they found that out.

*****

"Do you like Star Wars?" Jordan asked Derek. He was wandering around Derek's office, touching everything like an eight year old does.

"I hated Star Wars," Derek said, watching him with interest. Meredith definitely did a good job with him. He was a hoot to be around.

Jordan snapped his head around to look at him. "Awww, you said a swear," he said.

"What? Hate?" Derek asked. "Hate is not a swear."

"Uh huh. My mom said so and she's the boss. If she hears you saying that, she'll send you to your room," Jordan informed him, peering at a plastic replica of the human brain that Derek had on his shelf. "You operate on brains?"

Derek nodded. "Yes I do." He walked up next to Jordan. "Do you know the parts of the brain?"

Jordan nodded. "I love brains, they're all slimy and gross." He pointed to the top of the plastic brain. "This is the parietal lobe," he moved his finger to the front of the brain, "This is the frontal lobe," he pointed to the middle, "and the temporal lobe." Derek's eyes got wider as Jordan rattled off the parts of the brain. "Oh!" he pointed to the bottom part. "This is the occipital lobe and the cerebellum." He looked up at Derek, proud of himself.

"Wow, bud, you do know the brain. Who told you all of that?"

"My mom, I told you she's smart," Jordan said.

Derek nodded. "She definitely is. You'll make a good neurosurgeon someday," Derek observed.

Jordan shook his head. "No, I want to be a policeman."

"A policeman?" Derek frowned. "When you know all of those things about the brain? What do you want to be a policeman for?"

Jordan rolled his eyes. "Because you get to carry a gun and hand cuffs and you get all the donuts you want."

"What was I thinking?" Derek chuckled.

"Derek?" Jordan asked.

"Yes, Patrick?" Derek answered. Jordan's eyes got wide and he burst out laughing. Derek frowned. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Jordan gasped, holding his stomach and bending over as he laughed.

Derek rolled his eyes and looked at his watch. "You'd better get back to your mom's office before she finds out you're not there. I don't want you getting into trouble."

Jordan stood up and gave Derek a serious look. "Okay. Hey, we're friends now, right?"

Derek smiled and nodded. "Sure, we're buddies, you and me."

"Good, cause friends do stuff together, like going fishing and playing video games, right?" Jordan asked.

Derek shrugged. "I suppose they do. You like to fish?"

Jordan's face lit up. "I love to fish," his face fell, "but I never get to go because my Poppy doesn't fish and my Mom doesn't like worms or dirt."  
"Well, I'll take you fishing. I know just the place with lots of trout." Derek grabbed a tablet from the pocket of his coat and scribbled on it with his pen. He ripped the page off and handed it to Jordan. "Here's my number. Call me after you talk to your mom to make sure it's okay with her, okay?"

"Okay!" Jordan cheered. "I will ask. Oh, and Derek?"

"What is it, Bud?"

"My name is Jordan Grey, not Patrick Star. Patrick is my favorite character on Spongebob."

Derek smiled and shook his head. "No wonder you were busting a gut at me." He walked Jordan out of his office and watched as he walked down the hall. Jordan turned at the doorway of Meredith's office and waved at him. Derek smiled and waved back, realizing that two people with the last name Grey had found their way into his heart.

****

"Hey, squirt, are you ready to go?" Meredith asked, coming into her office about five minutes later. She hung up her lab coat and grabbed her fleece jacket. Jordan was sitting on the couch reading his Junie B. Jones book. He looked up at her when she came in.

"Hi, Mom," he replied. "I'm ready." He hopped off the sofa and grabbed his coat.

"I hope you weren't too bored in here by yourself," she said, helping him put his jacket on.

"I wasn't bored at all," Jordan said.

"Good. Hey, you know what? I have off Friday night so why don't we go out for dinner and see that Wild Things movie that you wanted to see. You can invite a friend if you want."

Jordan's eyes lit up. "Any friend?" he asked, reaching in his pocket and touching the piece of paper with Derek's number on it.

"Any friend," Meredith agreed, ushering them both out the door.

**I wonder what friend Jordan will invite???**


	7. Teacher's Lounge

**Okay, just to let everyone know, Charlie Griffin will not make an appearance in this story. He will be mentioned….later on in the story, but as for coming in and disrupting Jordan's and Meredith's lives, not gonna happen. **

**Chapter Six: Teacher's Lounge**

Cristina grumbled as she heard her cell phone ringing shrilly from the stand beside her bed. She knew it was Meredith because of the ring tone; Sober by Pink. She covered her head, trying to block out the sound and heard the chirp, alerting her that she had missed a call. She would catch up with Meredith later at the hospital, why the hell was she calling her this early in the morning?

She groaned when the same song started playing again. She threw the pillow off her face and grabbed her phone. "Someone had better be dead," she growled.

"Chill out miss grouchy pants," Jordan said. "You took forever to answer the phone. Were you on the throne?"

Cristina sighed. "No, I was sleeping. Do you know what that is?" She looked over at her alarm clock. It was ten after seven.

"I've been up for a whole hour," Jordan bragged.

Cristina yawned. "Good for you, Jordie poo," she said, calling him by the nickname she had given him the day he was born. "What do you want? Where's the woman responsible for your existence?"

"She's in the shower," he replied. "I'm supposed to be getting ready for school."

"Are you getting ready for school?" Cristina asked.

"Not yet," Jordan replied.

Cristina rolled her eyes. "If I have to listen to your mom tell me one more time that you were late for school, I will come over to your house myself, take you to school and walk you into the building with my robe and slippers on. Do you want that?"

'Uh, no," Jordan said. "I wanted to tell you something quick."

"What?"

"I made a new friend yesterday," Jordan said.

Cristina's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "Before or after you started the food fight?"

"After," Jordan said. "I'm going to invite him to the movies with me and mom on Friday."

"Where'd you meet him?" Cristina asked. "In the principal's office?"

"No," Jordan said. "He works at the hospital with you and mom."

"He does?" Cristina said in a surprised tone. "He's not a rug rat?"

"Nope," Jordan said. "He works on brains and he likes the Yankees and he likes to fish. He said we were buddies now."

Cristina began putting two and two together. "Oh really? What's his name?"

"Derek," Jordan said. "Do you think mom will care if I invite him with us Friday night? He gave me his phone number."

"Does Derek know who your mom is?" she asked.

Jordan giggled. "Yep, I told him her name was Meredith Poopy-pants Grey."

"Is that so?" Cristina snickered. "Your mom won't care if you invite him. I'll tell you what. You call him and invite him and I'll talk to your mom about it, okay?"

"Okay!" Jordan cheered. "Oh, gotta go. I'm still in my underwear. Mom will kill me if she comes out of the bathroom and I'm not ready for school."

"Bye Jordie Poo, have a good day," Cristina said. "Do me a favor and eat your food today at lunch, don't throw it at people."

"I won't," Jordan said. "Today is spaghetti and meatballs and that could get really messy! Bye!"

Cristina smiled and snapped her phone shut. So, Meredith's Mr. Fix-it was Jordan 's new friend. This was going to get interesting.

*****

Meredith sighed tiredly as she waited for the elevator. She had just finished three back to back surgeries and was exhausted. She decided to take a quick power nap in her office to recharge her batteries. She groaned as the elevator doors opened and she saw that it was crowded. She squeezed into the far corner, and pushed the floor she needed.

At each floor, the occupants quickly cleared and Meredith found that she was by herself, or at least she thought. She froze when she felt someone come up behind her. "So, we're kissing but we're not dating," the person said.

Meredith inhaled deeply as she felt his hot breath on her neck. She turned around and looked into the deep blue eyes that always seemed to put her into a trance. "I don't know what that was about," she managed to say.

"Is it going to happen again? Because if so, I need to carry breath mints, put a condom in my wallet," he smirked at her.

Meredith rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry. I don't sleep with man whores." Damn, she left her filter at home.

Derek frowned. "Man whore? I'm not a man whore." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Who told you I was a man whore?"

Meredith turned to look at him. "Nobody told me. You're friends with Mark and he's one of the biggest man whores in the history of man whores. I just assumed you were one, too."

"Because I'm friends with Mark you automatically think that I'm a man whore, too?" He shook his head disbelievingly. "Tell me then, Dr. Grey, are you abrasive and tactless?" He waited for her to answer.

Meredith frowned at him. "Um, no, I'm not abrasive and tactless, why do you ask?"

"You're friends with Cristina Yang and she's abrasive and tactless, I just assumed that you were, too," he smirked at her.

"Quite the smartass, I see," Meredith said, turning to face him. "I'm not abrasive and tactless."

Derek stared back at her. "And I'm not a man whore," he replied. "Not even close."

"Glad we cleared that up, then," Meredith said.

"I agree," Derek nodded. "Will you go out with me now?"

"No," Meredith said. "I…you…I'm not the type of woman that men want to date."

Derek frowned. "I want to date you."

Meredith shook her head. "I…look, you are a good guy, maybe even great. If you knew," she paused. "If you had any idea of what you'd be getting yourself into by getting involved with me, you'd run away screaming."

Derek smiled at her, realizing then how much Jordan favored her. "Meredith," he said. "I don't spook easily." Derek stepped closer to her, tilted her chin up with his hand and kissed her soundly. His heart leaped into his throat when, instead of pushing him away, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeper. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed his body firmly against hers. He slid his tongue into her mouth and moaned when he felt her suck on it gently.

Derek reluctantly pulled away as the elevator chimed and he placed his forehead against hers briefly. "Think about it, okay?" he whispered, moving away from her quickly and exiting the elevator.

Meredith remained in the elevator, her legs too shaky for them to support her if she moved. "Okay," she said softly, watching him walk down the hallway.

******

Derek made it to his office and closed the door behind him. He leaned against the door and closed his eyes, replaying the scene moments ago between him and Meredith in the elevator. What did she mean by telling him she wasn't the type of woman that men didn't want to date? She was amazing and her son was amazing. He was falling for her more by the second and those elevator kisses didn't help slow the process at all.

He reached into the pocket of his scrubs when he felt his phone vibrating. He looked at the number, not recognizing it. "This is Derek Shepherd," he answered.

"Hi Derek! It's me, Jordan Grey," Jordan said.

"Hey, bud," Derek said and then frowned. "Shouldn't you be at school?"

"I am at school," Jordan said. "I'm in the teacher's lounge."

"You're allowed to be in the teacher's lounge?" Derek asked. "I thought that place was for teachers only."

"It is," Jordan said. "The sign out front says no students. No one knows I'm in here."

Derek chuckled in amusement. There was never a dull moment. "Where is everyone then?"

"At a fire prevention assembly. I told the teacher I had to go to the bathroom and came in here to use the phone." Jordan explained. "Tell me if this is fair. We're not allowed to have soda at school but there's a Pepsi machine in this room. Those teachers come in here and hide, drink soda, and then go back to class. That is so not fair."

Derek laughed. "That is not fair," he agreed. "Why are you calling me when you're supposed to be learning?"

"Well," Jordan started. "I'm going to the movies on Friday and my mom said that you could come."

"She did?" Derek raised his eyebrows. "She said that?"

"Yep, guess what we're going to go see."

"Oh no, don't tell me something with Star Wars," Derek groaned.

Jordan laughed. "No! Guess again!"

"Um…a Disney movie about a princess?" Derek guessed.

"Gross! No!" Jordan laughed.

"OK, then, I give up," Derek said.

"Where the Wild Things Are," Jordan said. "I wanted to see it. I read the book my entire life and they finally made a movie about it!"

"I read that book when I was a kid, too," Derek said. "It sounds like an awesome movie."

"That book was around when you were a kid?" Jordan asked in disbelief.

Derek laughed. "I'm not that old, goofball. You're in luck. I'm off on Friday night, too. What time are we going?"

"After my mom gets off work at five. We're going out to eat, too. You want to get pizza or Chinese?" Jordan asked. "Don't pick Chinese though because mom hates Chinese food."

"Let's do pizza then," Derek said. "You and I can do Chinese some other time."

"Great! See you Friday, Derek! Oh, we live at 613 Harper Lane . Gotta go before someone comes looking for me." Jordan hung up.

Derek closed his phone and sighed. Apparently, Jordan had talked to Meredith about him. He must have because Meredith said it was fine that Jordan invited him to the movies with them on Friday. Derek smiled to himself at the thought. Maybe Meredith wanted him to come. One thing was for sure, he was definitely excited about Friday evening and spending it with his two favorite people.

********

"Earth to Meredith," Cristina said, coming into her office. Meredith was sitting at her desk, staring into space. Cristina waved her hand in front of her face. 'Wake up!"

"Huh?" Meredith said. "What'd you say?"

"I asked you what was with the dreamy expression on your face," Cristina said, flopping down in the chair in front of her desk. "Spill."

"He's not a man whore," Meredith said, giving her a sheepish smile.

"Who?" Cristina asked.

"Derek," Meredith said. "He's Mark's friend, but he doesn't sleep around."

"Oh good," Cristina said flatly. "I'm so glad you found that out for all of us. I was in such suspense."

Meredith looked at her from across the table. "He told me to think about dating him."

Cristina raised her eyebrows. "Really?"

Meredith nodded. "Yeah, after he kissed me in the elevator," she said.

"Again?" Cristina's eyes got wide. "You kissed him again in the elevator?"

Meredith nodded. "With tongue."

"Nice," Cristina leaned back in her seat. "So, what does this mean?"

"I don't know," Meredith said slowly.

Cristina sat up quickly. "Ohmigod, you kissed him twice in the elevator with tongue and you don't know what it means?"

"No," Meredith mumbled.

Cristina hid her smile. "Did you tell him about the other guy in your life?"

"No, it never came up. You know the minute he finds out about Jordan he'll drop me like a hot potato," Meredith said.

Cristina smiled knowingly and stood up. "You should ask him out. You have off Friday evening, ask him out."

Meredith sighed. "I can't. I'm taking Jordan and a friend to the movies."

Cristina turned in the doorway. "Oh right, before I forget. Jordan called me this morning. He's really excited about going to the movies. He told me to tell you that his friend would be at your house Friday evening around five."

"Oh, which friend did he invite?" Meredith asked.

Cristina looked at the ceiling, pretending to think. "You know, he told me and I forget. It's a new friend he made recently."

"Oh, Tyler ," Meredith said. "He's Jordan 's new friend. Thanks for letting me know."

Cristina smiled brightly. "Anytime, sweetie."

**Happy Thanksgiving :)**


	8. Movie Night

**Sorry this took so long to post. I have had a horribly busy weekend. I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving. **

**Chapter Seven: Movie Night**

"Mom, can we go do Ci Ci's tonight for their macaroni and cheese pizza?" Jordan asked as he lay sprawled out on Meredith's bed while she got ready.

Meredith scrunched up her nose. "Ew, Jordan. That's disgusting."

Jordan sat up. "Mom, don't knock it until you try it. It's good!"

Meredith shook her head. "Tell you what. You and your little friend can have all the macaroni and cheese pizza that you want and I'll stick with plain cheese."

Jordan laughed. "Mom! Derek's not little, he's big! He fixes brains!"

Meredith turned and gave him a confused look. "What are…" She was interrupted by the doorbell ringing.

Jordan hopped up. "Derek's here!" he yelled, sprinting out of Meredith's room and down the hall. "Come meet my new friend, Mom!"

Meredith froze for a moment. Derek wasn't little, he was big? He fixes brains? Meredith's eyes got wide at who she thought Derek was. It couldn't be, could it? She cautiously walked out of her room and down the hall. She could hear Jordan talking with someone downstairs. She paused to listen.

"Mom's upstairs getting ready. She'll be down in a minute. Let's go to the living room. I'll show you my pet hermit crab," she heard Jordan say. With it suddenly getting quiet in the entrance way, she slowly went down the rest of the stairs and inched towards the living room.

"Mom said this is as close to a pet as I'll get. I really, really want a dog but she said that dogs just shed and they have fleas. We're not home enough to have one."

"You know what? I love dogs," the friend said. Meredith frowned. That was definitely a man voice. A familiar man voice.

"I like German Shepherds," Jordan said. "I'll need one when I'm a police man. They sniff out drugs and bad people."

"You're right, they do," the man agreed. "German Shepherds are smart dogs. I like them too. Know why?"

"Why?" Jordan asked.

"Because my last name is Shepherd, just like them." Jordan howled laughing at Derek's joke.

Meredith's eyes got wide. Derek Shepherd was in her home, talking and joking with her son. And if her memory served her correctly, Derek was the friend that Jordan invited out with them tonight. What the hell?

She backed away slowly, her destination being back upstairs to process this situation. Not realizing the hall stand being behind her, she bumped into it, knocking her mother's antique vase on the floor. It shattered on contact, drawing attention to herself. "Crap!" she exclaimed.

She stood, almost paralyzed, as Derek and Jordan came out of the living room to see where the noise came from.

Jordan's mouth dropped when he saw the mess. "You have some explaining to do," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Meredith, are you okay?" Derek asked , stepping closer to her.

"Yeah," she squeaked. "I'm fine. I just…what…what are you doing here?

"He's going to the movies with us. You said I could invite a friend, Mom, remember?" Jordan said. "Aunt Cris said that she'd talk to you about Derek coming with us."

"Aunt Cris?" Meredith frowned, realizing that as soon as she saw her best friend, she was dead.

Derek looked at Jordan and then at Meredith. "You didn't know I was coming?" he asked.

Meredith shook her head. "No, I didn't. I'm sorry."

Meredith noticed the disappointed expression on Derek's face. "No, no don't be sorry. It's just when Jordan called and invited me, I assumed it was okay with you. I can go," Derek said turning towards the door. Jordan gave Meredith a disappointed look. That couldn't happen.

"Derek, wait. Jordan wants you to come. I…want you to come," Meredith said. "Don't go, please."

Derek turned around and studied her face. "You're sure?" he asked.

Meredith smiled and nodded. "I'm sure. We'd love for you to come with us tonight."

"Please, Derek?" Jordan begged, giving him a pleading look.

"Sure," Derek nodded. "Why not. It'll be fun."

"Yes!" Jordan cheered. "Don't worry, Mom. Derek and I will clean up the mess you made. Come on, Derek, the broom is in the kitchen." Jordan breezed by Meredith and into the kitchen. Derek followed him, but stopped, leaned closer to Meredith. "You look beautiful tonight," he whispered in her ear. He backed away, winked at her and walked into the kitchen.

***

"Derek, I can't believe you ate macaroni and cheese pizza," Meredith said as they waited in line to get their movie tickets. "No wonder you have indigestion."

Derek groaned, holding his stomach. "You could have warned me that Jordan had the menu already picked out for me tonight. I don't know how his eight year old stomach could possibly digest that crap." Both looked at Jordan, who had discovered that one of his friends had come to see the movie as well. He was a few people ahead of them, talking excitedly about the movie they were in line to see. Jordan had left Derek and Meredith to talk amongst themselves.

Meredith giggled, rummaging though her purse and pulling out a container of Tums. "Here, take this. It will make you feel better." She handed him the container.

Derek looked at her in awe. "I owe you my life," he said taking the container, opening it and pouring three tablets into his hand. Meredith thought for sure that her heart stopped at those words he said to her. How could this man make her react the way she did to him with just saying things?

Derek smirked as he chewed the tablets. "You carry around a bottle of Tums with you at all times?"

"I am the mother of an eight year old, rambunctious little boy. I take no risks," she explained. "I have that along with first aid spray, band aids, and children's Tylenol. Besides, it's habit. I had nine months of constant heartburn when I was pregnant with Jordan. I never left the house without it."

Derek smiled. "Did he have lots of hair?"

"What?" Meredith gave him a puzzled look.

"I've heard that when a woman has heartburn when she's pregnant, the baby has a head full of hair," Derek said. Meredith noticed that he started to turn red after he said it.

"Is that your medical opinion?" Meredith asked, trying not to giggle.

"No, I lived in a house full of women. You…hear things," he said. "Apparently it's an old wives tale." He noticed her humored expression. "Shutting up now."

He was adorable. Everything about him. His crooked nose, the way he blushed when he spoke "girl", his smile; he was perfect.

Meredith giggled. "Just so you know, Jordan had a ton of hair that stuck straight up when he was born. I used to call him my little baboon." She touched his arm. "I'm glad you came tonight."

Derek looked down at her hand for a moment before looking at her. "Me, too. I knew you'd cave to going out with me eventually."

Meredith turned to look at him with a surprised expression. "Excuse me? This is not a date," she said. "I didn't cave to anything."

"Well, I came to your house, picked you up, took you to dinner, and now we're seeing a movie. Sounds like a date to me." he said.

Meredith giggled. "When you put it that way, I guess we are on a date."

Derek leaned closer to her ear. "Good thing we have an eight year old chaperone. You and I alone in a dark movie theatre could be dangerous."

Meredith shivered. "Thank God," she said.

"Mom," Jordan said, coming back to them in line. "Tommy's here with his mom and sister. He wants to know if Derek and I could sit with him. I told him I'd ask you."

"Uh, sure," Meredith said, glancing at Derek.

"Great! Come on, Derek!" Jordan said, pulling his hand.

"Hey, bud. Why don't you go and sit with your friend. I'll sit with your mom so she doesn't get lonely, okay?" Derek said.

Jordan frowned. "Well, I don't want Mom to be lonely. We're still buddies if I do sit with Tommy, right?" Jordan asked.

"Absolutely," Derek said, patting Jordan on top of the head.

"Okay, don't let mom hold the popcorn, though. She eats it all," Jordan called over his shoulder as he walked away.

***

What the hell? They were over halfway through the movie and Derek never touched her, not once. Instead, he was absorbed in watching the weird movie. What was all the crap about needing a chaperone? Meredith looked at him out of the corner of her eye. Was he still interested? Meredith at work was a lot more sure of herself than Meredith the mom. That was it, he saw her as a mom and now he wasn't interested anymore. He'd probably stop talking to her at work, stop making out with her in the elevator, he'd completely avoid her. She knew this would happen. The minute he found out she had a son, he'd no longer chase after her. She was right all along. Meredith crossed her arms cross her chest. Man this stupid theatre was cold.

She felt an arm go along her shoulders. She looked over and noticed that Derek had put his arm around her. She turned her head to look at him. He smiled back at her. "Cold?" he asked.

"A little," she admitted.

Derek pulled her closer to him and ran the palm of his hand up and down her arm quickly to warm her up. Meredith laid her head on his shoulder, the heat of his body warming her completely. "Better?" he whispered.

Meredith looked up and nodded. Derek took her by surprise when he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers quickly. He then turned his full attention back to the movie. "This movie is great. I loved reading the book growing up. I can't stop watching it."

"It's creepy," Meredith replied, snuggling into him more. Derek wrapped his arm tighter around her. "Jordan will probably have nightmares."

Derek chuckled. "He'll be fine. He and I will talk about it on the way home."

Home? Why did that sound so nice? "Sounds like a good idea," she agreed.

"I discovered a new coffee shop on Eighth Street. The coffee is great. Want to meet me there Monday morning before work?" he asked.

Meredith's heart leapt into her throat. "Okay," she whispered.

"Okay," he repeated. "It's a date."

***

Jordan talked about the movie as they walked to the car. He talked about it the entire way home in the car, at least until Harper Lane, when he crashed in the backseat. Derek carried him into the house, took him upstairs and put him in bed.

"Thanks for coming tonight, Derek," Jordan mumbled. "I'm glad you like my Mom. I told you she was great."

Derek chuckled softly. "She sure is, buddy. Sweet dreams." He finished tucking Jordan in and quietly left his room. He noticed the pictures hanging in the hallway. There were several when Jordan was a baby. Derek smiled at a few. The kid had been adorable since day one. There were a few of Meredith and some women that Derek didn't recognize, probably her friends from college.

It was the picture of Jordan and Meredith that somehow brought tears to his eyes. The picture was obviously taken when Meredith had graduated from medical school. She had on her cap and gown and was holding a much younger Jordan. Their faces were pressed together and they both were looking at the camera. Meredith was holding onto Jordan and Jordan was holding onto her diploma. Derek smiled at the picture, it was precious.

He made his way downstairs and into the kitchen where Meredith was putting dirty dishes into the dishwasher from the sink. He took a moment to watch her, not making his appearance known. She was beautiful. He cleared his throat and she looked up suddenly. "Hey, is he asleep?"

"Yeah," he said, walking towards her. "He's definitely worn out."

Meredith smiled as they were overcome by an awkward silence. "So," Meredith started, preoccupying herself with folding the dishtowel she was holding. "You know I have a son."

"I know you have a great son," Derek said. "We met a few days ago and I was taken with him."

Meredith nodded. "So, you're still interested?" she asked, looking at the counter. She avoided his gaze. She could hear his foot steps coming closer to her and stopping right in front of her.

"Meredith, look at me," Derek said. He moved into her space and tilted her chin up so that he could look her in the eye. "Yes, I'm still interested. I'm very interested. Are you interested?"

Meredith smiled. "Yes," she said. "Very interested."

"Good," he said, leaning forward and kissing her deeply. He felt her tongue enter his mouth and massage his as her fingers raked through his hair. He pulled her tighter and kissed her over and over until his pager went off. They both pulled away reluctantly and breathless. "Damn, I have to go," he said, looking at his pager. "911." He pecked her lips with his. "We'll continue this soon," he said.

Meredith nodded. "Can't wait."

**Let me know what you all thought about their "first date".**


	9. Deja Vu

**Uhhhh… sorry in advance…Porn haters need not read…..**

**Chapter Eight: Déjà vu **

Meredith sat at her desk in her office, reviewing charts and signing off on diagnostic reports when she heard a knock on her door. "Come in," she called, not looking up at her visitor. The person walked into her office and stood in front of her desk. Meredith looked up into the lustful eyes of Derek. "Hey," she said. "What's up?"

"I can think of one thing," he growled. "Come here."

Meredith looked at him uncertainly, but she got up and walked around her desk. "What?" she asked, studying his face.

"I told you we'd continue this," he said, grabbing her by the waist and slamming her body against his. Meredith grunted at the impact, but was quickly preoccupied with Derek's lips crashing against hers. His kiss was hard; urgent; hungry. He had never kissed her that way before. "I want you," he mumbled, backing her up against her desk and lifting her onto the edge. "I've wanted you since the day I fixed your door knob," he said huskily.

His lips moved to her neck, where he started nipping and sucking feverously as he loosed the strings of her scrub pants. Meredith lifted herself slightly, allowing him to remove her pants, along with her black lacy panties. Derek threw the garments over his shoulder.

"Did you lock the door?" Meredith panted as he ran his hands up and down her smooth thighs as he took in the sight before him.

"No, so whoever barges in will know that you're mine," he husked, moving back between her legs and covering his lips with hers. "You're mine, Meredith."

"I'm yours," she agreed, her breath hitching in her throat as he moved his hands under her shirt and to her back to unhook her bra. She lifted her arms up, allowing him to take her shirt off. God, she hadn't had sex in a long time. Her whole body was on fire at the thought that her situation was about to change.

"You're beautiful," he murmured in her ear. Meredith moaned in pleasure as he cupped her breasts and ran his thumbs over her nipples. They hardened at his touch, almost begging him for more. His mouth moved down her chest and to her breasts. Meredith moaned louder as he took her nipple into his mouth, sucking hard. She raked her fingers through his hair. Her core was on fire, dripping for him. "Derek," she moaned, as his hand moved in between her thighs and massaged her engorged nub. "Oh, God!" she cried out at the sensation, causing her to grab the hem of his scrubs and yank them down.

She reached between them and pumped his shaft. He was hard and ready and…huge! She was sure he was the biggest she'd ever had.

Meredith groaned at the thought of taking all of what he had to give and it was too much. She grabbed him by the hair, removing his lips from her breast and pulling his face to her level.

"Ow," he panted.

"You need to fuck me now," she ordered, spreading her legs wider.

Derek smirked, allowing her to guide him into her as he placed both of his hands on her ass. She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him passionately as he thrust into her gently; allowing her to adjust to his size. She moaned loudly as he filled her and yelled out when he started to thrust at a harder pace. She felt her orgasm rise and her whole body started to tremble. This Derek Shepherd was a keeper.

"Mommy," a voice said. "Mommy, wake up," Meredith felt someone smacking her cheeks lightly. She opened her eyes and stared into the brown ones of her eight year old. He had turned on her light and crawled into bed with her. "Mommy, why are you shaking?"

Meredith closed her eyes briefly, taking a few deep breaths and trying to ignore the intense pulsating of her clit. Her panties felt wet and her entire body was on fire. She then realized that the sex with Derek was just a dream. "I'm sorry, Mommy had a bad dream," Meredith said. A dirty, dirty, bad dream.

"Was it about the Wild Things?" Jordan asked, curling up beside her.

"Yes," she answered. There were definitely some wild things in her dream.

"That's why you were groaning and yelling, right?" He asked.

"Right, the Wild Things got me, Jordan ," Meredith said.

****

Meredith walked into the coffee shop on Eighth Street for her Monday morning date with Derek. She hadn't seen him all weekend, but for some reason, she'd been able to remember every detail of the dream she had Friday night. She kept replaying it over and over in her mind. Dream sex with Derek was better than none.

Meredith walked into the coffee shop and went up to the counter. She ordered and paid for her coffee and looked around for Derek. She saw him sitting in a corner booth reading the newspaper. She took a deep breath. She needed to play it cool and not get overly flustered by looking at him. Thinking about their dream office sex could not enter her mind.

She adjusted her purse and made her way to the table where he was sitting. He looked up at her and gave her a wide smile. "Good morning," he said, standing up and helping her out of her jacket. He pressed his lips to her cheek quickly and hummed. "How was your weekend?" he asked, sitting down beside her on her side of the booth. He immediately put his arm around her. Meredith's mind went directly to the dream office sex. So much for that strategy. She suddenly became flustered and she could feel her face turning red. "Mer?" Derek asked. "What's wrong?"

"N-n-nothing," she stuttered. She turned to look at him, giving him a forced smile. "I'm completely fine."

"What did you do this weekend?" he asked. "Did you think of me at all?"

Meredith's eyes grew wide. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Derek smiled. "I mean, did you think of me at all this weekend when we weren't together. I thought of you, a lot."

Meredith smiled. "You did?"

"I did," he smiled back at her. Dream office sex. Crap! She thought of it again!

Meredith exhaled loudly, trying to calm herself down. "I thought about you, too."

Derek beamed. "All good I hope." Dream office sex. Again? Meredith's knee began to bounce uncontrollably.

"Oh, definitely," she breathed, grabbing for her coffee. She missed her mouth completely and hot coffee trailed down her shirt. "Crap!"

Derek immediately grabbed some napkins and patted the front of her shirt. Derek's hand was on her boob. Dream office sex. Meredith stood up suddenly. "You know, I just remembered that I have some things to do before my first appointment."

Derek stood up and gave her a strange look. "Meredith, are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said in a high pitched voice. "Sorry to cut this short but I have to go." Sorry that I am having horny, porny thoughts about you while your sitting right next to me. Dream office sex. Double crap!

Derek nodded, handing her jacket to her. "See you at work," he said, giving her a puzzled look.

"Bye," she said and quickly left the coffee shop. Derek watched her go with the same puzzled look. What the hell was that?

***

"Remind me never to speak to you again," Meredith said, catching up with Cristina as she walked into the hospital.

Cristina looked at her. "Okay, why?" She noticed the coffee stain on Meredith's shirt. "Hole in the lip, I see."

Meredith looked down. "I need to change into my scrubs," she muttered. "I…had a situation this morning." She stopped suddenly, "I had a date with Derek Shepherd this morning at a coffee shop and the only thing that I could think about was the dream office sex we had the night before," she blurted.

"You had sex with Derek? Score!" Cristina said loudly.

Meredith looked around in panic and shoved Cristina into the elevator. "No, I didn't have physical sex with Derek, I had dream sex and woke up in the middle of my orgasm."

Cristina snickered as she pushed the floor they needed. "Nice."

"Not nice, Cristina. Thanks to you not telling me that Jordan invited Derek to the movies, I freaking almost had a heart attack when he showed up at my house Friday night."

Cristina stared at her blankly. "I told you that Jordan's friend was coming, I just didn't say which one."

"Which is why I'm not talking to you ever again," Meredith informed her.

Cristina rolled her eyes. "You should be thanking me. I have a feeling you will be getting laid in the near future."

"Well, if it's anything like it was in the dream, I will thank you," Meredith said.

"So, in this dream," Cristina said. "Was he any good? Because he looks like he'd be good."

Meredith giggled. "Everything about that man is good."

"So, tell me," Cristina inched closer to her. "How big was he in your dream."

Meredith didn't say anything but held her fingers up as a measurement. Cristina's eyes got wide. "I hope for your sake, your dream comes true."

****

Meredith was sitting at her desk in her office going over charts and signing diagnostic reports when she heard a knock at her door. "Come in," she called. She didn't look up as the person entered and stood in front of her desk. She looked up into the deep blue eyes of Derek Shepherd. A sudden sense of déjà vu washed over her. "Hey," she said. "What are you doing here?"

"You know exactly why I'm here," he said, placing his palms flat against the top of her desk and leaning forward.

Meredith's eyes got wide. "I…I do?"

Derek nodded. "You are going to explain to me what the girl freak out was about that I witnessed earlier during our date at the coffee shop," he explained. "Did my breath stink? Did I smell funny? Was there something in my teeth?"

Meredith giggled. "No, I'm having an…uh…off day."

"Off day," he frowned.

"Yeah," Meredith nodded. "I had a wild dream a few nights ago. Hardly got any sleep."

Derek smiled. "And you were convinced that Jordan would be the one having nightmares."

Meredith held back a laugh. "Nope, it was me."

"What was it about?" Derek asked, flopping into the chair facing Meredith's desk. "Did you scream?"

Meredith giggled. "Oh, there was definitely screaming."

"Did you wake up in a sweat," he asked.

"I was soaking wet," she said.

"Hmmm," he said, looking at his watch. "You owe me another date. Gotta run. Surgery in ten." He stood up and left her office. He turned in the doorway to look at her. "Was I any good?"

Meredith looked at him in shock. "Huh?"

"In your dream, was I good?," he smiled. Busted!

"Y-yes," she stuttered. How the freak did he know?

"That's good, because in my dream, there was definite fireworks. We should compare notes sometime." He winked at her and walked out the door.

**That little smut was for Steph, my e-pimp. I owed it to her.**


	10. Dinner Time

**As always, thanks for the comments! I'm not fond of this chapter. For some reason I'm having a problem getting the words from my head and typed on the keyboard.**

**Chapter Nine: Dinner Time**

Meredith was an avoider. She realized this after she spent the entire afternoon avoiding Derek Shepherd. After he busted her in her office earlier that day for having wild sex dreams about him. Sex dreams that he admitted he had, too, which made this whole thing very awkward.

So, Meredith did the one thing she knew how to do. She avoided him.

She slipped into the elevator and exhaled loudly, happy to see that it was empty. Avoiding was exhausting because he was everywhere, all the time, saying things. Things that she wanted him to say that pretty much made her a big melted puddle of Meredith, but no man could be that perfect and say the most perfect things, could he?

She watched as the elevator doors closed. She just needed a minute to regroup. She could get off on third, take the back stairs and sneak into her office so that she wouldn't run into Derek. She giggled out loud at what she was thinking. What kind of girl avoided a guy that she was interested in? Oh, that's right. A girl that gave herself completely to a guy before and the minute she found out she was pregnant, he dumped her like a ton of bricks.

She was sure she was doing the right thing by avoiding until the doors opened again and Derek walked in. Meredith eyed him up for a moment and looked away suddenly when she realized that she was looking at his crotch.

"Hey there," he said, standing beside her. "I haven't seen you all afternoon. I came by your office earlier to see if you wanted to get some lunch, but you weren't there." That's because she was headed to her office and saw him approaching so she hid in the nearest supply closet.

"Oh," she said, not meeting his gaze. "I was busy."

Derek smiled and nodded. "That makes sense. Surgeons are known for being busy. Want to get together later? I can pick something up, come over and have dinner with you and Jordan."

"Dinner?" Meredith repeated. "You want to have dinner?"

Derek laughed. "Yeah, dinner, and maybe we can hang out for awhile afterward?"

"Hang out?" she squeaked. Ok, seriously, stop repeating what he says, Meredith, you sound like a freaking parrot.

Derek gave her a puzzled look. "Yeah, I thought we could watch television or something. My cable isn't hooked up yet."

"Oh, right. Using me for my cable?" Meredith joked.

"Among other things," he smiled mischievously and wiggled his eyebrows at her. "We could do more if you want. I'm game."

Meredith's mouth dropped and she turned to look at him. "You are such a pervert!" She smacked him lightly on the arm.

"Says the one who was having naughty dreams about me," he remarked. "Although I have had naughty dreams about you," he sighed. "You're right, my name is Derek Shepherd and I am a pervert."

Meredith giggled. "Not funny."

Derek suddenly wrapped his arms around her and pushed her gently up against the wall. He moved his face closer to hers so that their noses were almost touching. Meredith's breath hitched in her throat at his sudden closeness. "So, dinner?" he asked.

"Okay," Meredith whispered.

"Seven?" he asked, moving his lips closer to hers. His breath smelled like peppermint.

"Seven is good," she agreed.

"Do me a favor?" He asked.

"Okay," she said.

"If you're going to avoid me, don't make it so obvious. I saw you ducking into the supply closet earlier and I also saw you hiding behind your book when I walked into the cafeteria. You're adorable and when you avoid, it turns me on. Which isn't good because I'm trying to be a gentleman, here. I mean, if you want to keep avoiding, please continue, but then I may have to go with my animalistic nature and have my way with you." Derek smiled and pressed his lips to hers in several small kisses. "See you later," he said, ducking out of the elevator.

* * *

"Tomorrow is the last day to sign up for cub scouts, Mom," Jordan said, showing her the application after doing his homework. "Do you think that Poppy will come with me on the campouts if I sign up? I really want to sign up. All of my friends are."

Meredith gave him a sympathetic look. "I don't know, honey. You could call and ask him if you want." She knew that her father wasn't the type of man who fished and camped. He had a hard time mowing the grass.

"Okay," Jordan said, hopping off of the bar stool. "I'll call him right now." He ran out of the kitchen and up to his room.

Meredith glanced at the clock. Derek would be there in ten minutes with dinner. She was quite nervous about it. She wasn't sure why because he'd been to her house before, he knew about Jordan, but just the idea of seeing Derek made her stomach flop.

She jumped when she heard the doorbell ring. He was early. She walked out of the kitchen and to the door to let him in. She giggled when she saw him through the glass, trying to balance three brown paper bags without dropping them. She opened the door and grabbed one of the bags. "Did you bring enough food, Derek?" she asked.

He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I got Chinese for Jordan and me. I wasn't sure what he liked so I got a variety." He put his bags on the floor. "And I know you don't like Chinese, so your dinner is in that bag." He pointed to the bag she was holding.

Meredith peered inside. "It smells delicious," she said.

"It's from Maria's. Chicken parmesan," he smiled at her.

Maria's was her favorite Italian restaurant. "How did you know that was my favorite restaurant?"

Derek shrugged. "I saw a take out menu for Maria's on your desk. Thought I'd risk it."

Meredith smiled. He was just too…he was everything. He leaned down to grab the bags and walked into the kitchen. Meredith followed. "Where's Jordan?" he asked, putting the bags on the counter. He began pulling the containers out and emptying the bags.

"He's upstairs talking to my father about cub scouts," she said, putting her bag on the table and walking to the cupboard for plates.

"What does he want to know? I received my eagle scout honors when I was a junior in high school," he informed her.

"Eagle scout?" Meredith frowned. "What's that?"

"The highest rank in boy scouts. Once an eagle always an eagle," he said.

"Oh," Meredith shrugged, pulling silverware out of the drawer and walking to the table to set it. "He wants to join cub scouts and he's calling my father to see if he'll go to the activities and camp outs with him. I feel bad," she looked at the kitchen door to make sure that Jordan wasn't in ear shot. "My father is not an outside person."

Derek nodded, carrying the containers to the table. "Jordan needs someone who enjoys being outside just as much as he does," he said.

Jordan suddenly walked into the room and flopped down at his spot at the table. He pushed his plate forward and buried his face in his arms. He sighed loudly.

"What's wrong?" Meredith asked, walking over to him and running her fingers through his hair. "What did Poppy say?"

"He can't because of his research," Jordan said.

Meredith nodded. "Poppy is pretty busy with that, honey. Did you say hello to Derek?"

Jordan picked his head up, looking slightly more upbeat than a few seconds ago. "Hi, Derek," he said.

"Hey, buddy," Derek said, sitting beside him at the table. "I brought us Chinese," he said, motioning to the array of containers lining up on the table. "What are you hungry for? Sorry, they were fresh out of cat."

Jordan giggled. "I don't want to eat cat!" he exclaimed. "Did you get any shrimp lo mein.'

"Two containers full." Derek smiled, pulling his plate back to him. Derek gave him a large spoonful and Jordan immediately began eating.

Meredith eyed the two of them, amazed with their interaction. Derek was really great with him and Jordan liked him a lot. Derek looked up and met her gaze. He gave her a sympathetic smile.

"So, tell me about cub scouts," Derek asked lightly. "What kinds of things do you do?"

Jordan finished chewing. "Well, we go to meetings every Tuesday night and we do things in the neighborhood to earn badges and we camp out once a month."

"That sounds fun," Derek said.

"Guess what else," Jordan said.

"What?" Derek replied.

"We do this neat thing in the spring called a box car derby. We have to build our cars and then we race them. Doesn't that sound awesome?"

"Definitely," Derek said. "Hey, did you ask your mom about fishing? If it's okay with her, I want to take you on Saturday afternoon."

Jordan's eyes lit up and he looked at Meredith. "Can I go, Mom? Please?" Jordan began hopping up and down in his seat.

Meredith laughed. "You can go."

"Thanks! Derek, we can go!" They slapped high five. "Hey maybe that night you can sleep over!"

* * *

After dinner, a game of Sorry, and an episode of Spongebob, Jordan finally went to bed. Derek helped Meredith clean up the dishes. "Come on, I want to talk to you about something," he said, taking her by the hand, and pulling her into the living room. They sat side by side on the sofa. Derek weaved their fingers together and focused on them as he found the words he wanted to use.

"Meredith," he started.

"What?" she asked.

"I…hope that I'm not overstepping my boundaries with Jordan and please tell me if I am, but if you're okay with it, I'd like to be there for him in cub scouts. I mean, I know I'm not his dad and most dads help out with that kind of thing, but I'd like to be there for Jordan."

Meredith looked at him for a moment before speaking. Could she tell him? "Jordan doesn't have a father," she blurted. "He walked out on me the day I found out I was pregnant with him." She paused to see his reaction, but he only looked at her in concern, so she continued. "Two days after he was born, I received a letter from his father saying that if he was Jordan's father, he gave up all rights to him and would be no part of his life. The letter was notarized and signed by him and a witness." She paused again and Derek inched closer to her, wrapping his arm around her. "I've never talked to Jordan about him and when he asks, I avoid the question by telling him that I love him more than anything in the world." She took a deep breath. Out it came. "The thing is, Derek, I want more for Jordan than just me. I want him to have a positive male role model in his life, one that's not going to disappoint him and hurt his feelings. I can't do that to him. I won't do that to him."

"I understand that," Derek nodded.

"Which leads to us," she said.

"What about us?" Derek asked.

"What happens if things…progress between us and something happens and we're not together anymore? Not only will you have left me, you will also have left him. I…it's a risk and…"

"Meredith," Derek interrupted. "I get what you're saying. You want a guarantee. I can't give you that, but I can say this. No matter what happens between us, good or bad, as long as you'll allow me, I want to be in Jordan's life. I want to be in your life," he looked at her adoringly. "I want things to progress with us and I'm at a point right now where I can't imagine my life without the two of you in it."

Meredith beamed. "Really?"

"Really," Derek said. "There are not too many Yankee's fans out here and we need to stick together." He winked at her.

Meredith giggled. "That's true. You know," she said, inching closer to him. "I never did tip you for delivering my dinner tonight."

"Yes," Derek nodded. "Interest has been accrued," he joked, pulling her face to his and kissing her, long and hard. They pulled away breathlessly. Derek reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "So, you'll tell Jordan that cub scouts is a go?"

"I'll sign him up tomorrow when I take him to school," she said. "Why don't you tell him that you'll be joining him? He will be ecstatic."

Derek nodded and kissed her softly. "Sounds like a plan."

**I know, cheesy, right?**


	11. Go Fish

**Alas, another chapter. I like reviews...a lot. I think I'm deserving...Second update this week. **

**Chapter Ten: Go Fish**

"Good morning, Mom!" Jordan announced, flinging open Meredith's bedroom door, sprinting in and nose diving onto her bed. "Where's your clicker?"

Meredith groaned, rolling onto her side. She cracked one eye opened and focused on her overly chipper son. "Jordan," she mumbled. "What are you doing? What time is it?"

Work was hell the day before. Trauma after trauma had come in through the emergency room and she performed surgeries the entire day. She didn't pick Jordan up from his grandparent's until close to ten in the evening.

"It is nine thirty," he said, finding the remote under the pillow. He turned the television on and turned it to Sponge bob. "I'm all dressed and ready to go fishing with Derek today. He said he'd be here at ten."

Meredith turned to peer at the clock. She had a half hour to look decent. Not that she didn't look decent now, but Derek didn't need to see her in her Hello Kitty pajamas. At least…not yet. She yawned loudly. "Did you have breakfast?"

"No," Jordan replied.

"Did you make coffee?" she asked, waiting for his response.

Jordan howled. "No! I don't make coffee!"

"What good are you then?" Meredith joked, pushing the comforter down and rolling out of bed. "What do you want for breakfast?"

Jordan gave her a concerned look. "Who will be cooking it?"

Meredith rolled her eyes. "The maid, Jordan. Who do you think?"

Jordan giggled. "Peanut butter toast," he said. "And a cup of coffee."

Meredith put her hands on her hips. "I don't think so. You're hyper enough as it is."

She turned to leave the room and Jordan followed her.

"Come on, Mom!" he whined. "Derek drinks coffee and we're buddies. What if he wants to take me to a coffee shop or something for lunch someday? I'll have to drink coffee because that's all they serve!"

Meredith laughed as he followed her down the stairs and into the kitchen. "Nice try, but no coffee for you."

Jordan hopped up on the bar stool. "Ok," he sighed. "Orange juice, then."

"Good choice," Meredith smiled, grabbing the loaf of bread out of the bread box. She put two slices of bread into the toaster and grabbed the orange juice out of the refrigerator. She placed the carton in front of Jordan before grabbing him a cup. Jordan carefully poured his own juice. "Are you excited about fishing today?"

Jordan nodded. "I got my rod and tackle box out of the basement. I put them by the door," Jordan said.

"You've been busy this morning," Meredith observed, pushing the button on the coffee pot to start brewing. She sniffed the air. "What's that smell?" Meredith looked around the kitchen.

Jordan's eyes got wide. "Mom, my toast!"

Meredith looked at the toaster and saw smoke billowing out of the top. She quickly pushed the handle up and two charcoal black pieces of toast popped up. "Seriously?" she muttered, grabbing the burned toast and putting it in the garbage.

"It stinks in here, Mom, bad," Jordan said, waving his hand in front of his nose. "Worse than the time you burned the grilled cheese."

Meredith sighed. "Yeah, it does smell bad. Let's try this again." She put two more slices of bread in the toaster as the doorbell rang. "Watch it like a hawk," she told him. She left the kitchen and groaned at who was on the other side of the door. She had lost all track of time and neglected to change out of her pajamas. But it was too late. Derek had already seen her, because he was covering his smile with his hand. She sighed and opened the door. "What's so funny," she said.

"Hello, Kitty," he joked.

Meredith gave him an unimpressed look, "You're early," she said. "Why are you always early?"

"Perfect day to fish, didn't want to waste time," he sniffed the air. "What's that smell?"

"Jordan's breakfast," Meredith said.

"Poor kid," Derek sighed, ignoring Meredith's death glare. "You're going dressed like that?" He pointed to her pajamas.

Meredith gave him a confused look. "Going where?"

"Uh…fishing," Derek said. "You're going with us."

"No," Meredith shook her head. "No, I'm not going. I hate fishing."

Derek nodded. "Yes, you have to go. Jordan wants to take the boat out on the lake and I need an extra adult with me."

"Boat? What boat?" Meredith asked.

"My boat," Derek said. "Go get dressed."

"I don't want to go," she said. "Can't you take the boat out some other time?"

Derek sighed. "I could, I guess, but you'll have to go in and tell Jordan that he can't ride in the boat today." He raised his eyebrows at her.

Meredith exhaled loudly. She couldn't tell Jordan there would be no boat; he was really looking forward to this. "No, I won't tell him," she muttered. "I don't have a rod."

"I have an extra," Derek answered.

"I don't…I hate worms," she argued.

"I'll bait your line for you and I'll even take the fish you catch off the hook," he smiled.

"Gee, thanks," she said wryly.

"Any other excuses as to why you can't go?" he asked.

"I don't wanna go," she whined. "Fish are slimy and gross. And they smell. And it's boring. I would rather…give enemas all day!"

"Hmm," Derek said. "That bad, huh?" He pulled her to him and kissed her quickly. "Go get dressed and meet us outside in the car. It will be fun…well, probably not fun, but it will be fine." He kissed her cheek.

Meredith groaned loudly. "Fine, I'll go. Not like I have a choice or anything." She pulled his face to hers to kiss him again. "And there'd better be snacks," she muttered, breaking off the kiss and heading for the stairs.

"Derek, where are you taking us?" Meredith asked as Derek drove up a windy dirt road. "Is there even civilization out here?"

"We're almost there," he chuckled.

"This is neat," Jordan said from the backseat. "Maybe we'll run into some wild animals in all these woods."

Meredith's eyes grew wide. "Wild animals?" she squeaked. "Derek, take me home."

Derek laughed. "You'll be fine, Meredith. We'll be in a boat in the middle of the lake."

"And that just makes me feel so much better," she said sarcastically.

"Lighten up," he said. "It's good for your blood pressure."

She turned to glare at him. "Don't you tell me to lighten up. I'll lighten up when I feel…light." Derek looked at her out of the corner of his eye. She was something else.

"I hate nature," she mumbled.

Derek looked at her briefly, "What do you have against nature?" he asked.

"Nothing," she sniffed, looking out the window.

"Mom and Cristina took me camping when we still lived in Boston. Mom had to pee and used poison ivy for toilet paper," Jordan announced from the back seat. "It was funny."

Derek laughed loudly. "Did that really happen?" he gasped.

Meredith rolled her eyes. "Yes, thank you, Jordan. After that little…situation, I never set foot in the woods again. I was in agony for an entire week. I couldn't go to work, and it itched like hell."

Derek laughed louder as they drove into a clearing and pulled up to a tin camper on wheels. "We're here," he said, wiping the wetness from his eyes from laughing so hard.

"Where?" Meredith asked with a puzzled look.

"My home," Derek said, motioning to the camper. "This is where I live."

"Cool!" Jordan said, jumping out of the car. "It's like camp all the time! I'm going to go explore." He ran towards the row of trees on the other side of the clearing.

Meredith continued to scan her surroundings, not saying anything. Derek watched her, growing more insecure by the minute. She finally turned to look at him. "You live here," she acknowledged. "In the middle of nowhere?"

"Yes," Derek said. I bought all this land when I moved to Seattle. I have no idea what I'm going to do with it all," he paused as she continued to stare at him. "I own the lake we'll be fishing in, too." He put his hands in his pockets and waited for her to say something.

"You own all of this?" Meredith asked, looking around the property.

"Yes," he said. "Is…what do you think?"

Meredith thought for a moment. "I think…that it's amazing. Absolutely beautiful and I want you to show me more." She held her hand out to him, smiling. He smiled back and grabbed her hand and they walked towards the camper together.

"This is boring," Meredith said loudly as she sat in a boat in the middle of a lake that Derek owned. Derek looked over at her from the other side of the boat in amusement. "I have been sitting here for an entire hour waiting for a fish to bite. This is a complete waste of time."

"Shhh," Jordan said. "Mom, you're scaring the fish."

"What?" Meredith said. "That's ridiculous."

"It's true," Derek said. "Perhaps the reason why you haven't caught anything or we haven't caught anything is because you have talked nonstop, loudly I might add, for over an hour."

"The water is loud, Derek, I have to talk over the water." She knew she sounded stupid but who the hell cared. She was fishing in the middle of a lake in a boat. She was so out of her element.

Derek turned to look at her. "I'm okay with you not talking at all," he remarked.

"Me, too," Jordan added.

Meredith's mouth dropped. "Fine," she sniffed. "I won't talk and you still won't catch anything, you'll see." She remained quiet for several minutes.

Jordan suddenly stood up. "Hey, Derek! I got a bite!" He yanked at his rod and began to reel his line in. Derek put his rod down and moved towards Jordan to help him. Together they reeled in a large trout. "Hey, I caught a fish," Jordan said. "See, Mom, you were scaring them away."

"Funny," Meredith said sarcastically. "It was complete coincidence."

Jordan shook his head, pointing to Derek's rod that was propped up against the side of the boat. "Derek has a bite, too." Derek moved to pick up his rod and reeled it in. Jordan moved to stand beside him but lost his balance when a particularly big wave rocked the boat. Meredith gasped and stood up, moving quickly towards Jordan, but stopped suddenly when Derek grabbed a hold of Jordan with his free arm to steady him. Thank God Derek put him in a life vest before getting on the boat.

Meredith could feel herself losing her balance as another wave rocked the boat. She screamed loudly as she fell overboard and into the cold water. She kicked her way to the surface, gasping for breath.

"Meredith, grab my hand!" Derek yelled as she splashed around trying to keep her head above water. "Meredith, grab my hand!"

Meredith reached for his hand and was amazed at how effortlessly he pulled her into the boat. "Mom! Are you okay?" Jordan asked.

Meredith took a moment, letting her heart rate fall back to normal before she replied. "Fine," she coughed, shaking the water out of her ear. "I'm fine."

"I think we're done fishing now," Derek announced, not hiding the amusement in his face.

"Yep," Jordan agreed. "Mom really scared the fish away this time."

"Let's go back to the trailer and fry up these…two fish," Derek said. "And to get your mom out of those wet clothes."

No matter what she did, she always found one way or another to humiliate herself in front of Derek Shepherd. But this whole falling from the boat and into the water thing was the icing on the cake. Meredith stared at herself in the tiny mirror in Derek's tiny bathroom in his tiny trailer. He had given her one of his shirts and a pair of sweat pants to wear until her clothes dried. She was a little light headed and she wasn't sure if it was from the cold water, or the fact that she was surrounded by his smell from wearing his clothes.

She opened up the bathroom door and walked outside, the aroma of fish filling her nostrils. Derek looked up from the grill as she stepped outside. He grinned at her. "Feel better?" he asked.

"I'm fine, just humiliated," Meredith said, sinking into one of the lawn chairs.

"Don't be," he said, bringing the cooked fish and three cooked potatoes wrapped in foil, to the table. "I cooked up some of the fish I caught a few days ago so we'd have enough." He kissed the top of her head. "Jordan, let's eat!"

Jordan ran around the side of the trailer and plopped into his seat. "Yum! Fish!" Meredith fixed him a plate first and then her own. She looked over at Derek, silently telling him to go ahead with the news.

"Buddy, your mom signed you up for cub scouts. We'll need to go and get your uniform and your wolf cub book."

Jordan frowned. "I don't have anyone to do it with me," he said. "I don't want to join."

"How would you like it if I did those things with you? Like, helping you with getting your badges, going on camp outs, and don't forget your box car derby."

Jordan's eyes got wide and he turned to his mother. "Mom! Can Derek do cub scouts with me? Pretty please?"

Meredith smiled. "Absolutely." She and Derek exchanged smiles.

"Wait till I tell Tommy that I'm joining, too. This is the best day of my life!" Jordan cheered.

"I take it you had fun today," Meredith observed, smiling at him.

"Tons," Jordan said. "My favorite part was when you fell in the water, Mom. And then Derek rescued you! Wasn't that nice of him?"

Meredith exchanged amused glances with Derek. "It was," she agreed.

"You know what you should do?" Jordan asked, picking at his potato.

"What's that?" Meredith asked, sipping her water.

"You should kiss him and tell him thank you," Jordan said.

Meredith choked and put her water down. "Kiss him?" She looked at Derek in panic. He raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah, Mom, like you did this morning at our house. You two kissed on the lips, I saw you. I was spying."

"Oh," Meredith said softly, at a loss for words.

Derek cleared his throat. "Is it okay that your mom and I kissed, Jordan?"

Both looked at Jordan for his reaction. Jordan thought a moment and then shrugged. "Sure, but be careful. You don't want to get that swine flu."

**Both my eight and six year old sons are obsessed with the swine flu. Ever since their school assembly on keeping safe from H1N1, they have been giving me tips on how not to get it. **

**1. Wash your hands, sing the happy birthday song while you do it, even though it's not really your birthday.**

**2. Don't touch other people in your class, not even if they ask you to. Just be nice and say no because you could die from the swine flu.**

**3. Be careful when your kissing someone, ask them before you kiss them if they have the swine flu. If they say yes, then shake their hand.**

**This information will come in handy for everyone during this cold/flu season. LOL!**

**Leave me love….please???**

**BTW, smut will happen soonish **


	12. Stretch Marks

**This chapter is rather short, but it leads up to the next chapter....pure smut. Once again, thanks for the comments!!**

**Chapter Eleven: Stretch Marks**

"Where the hell have you been?" Mark asked, coming up behind Derek at the nurses station.

Derek looked up from his patient's chart that he was signing off on. "What do you mean?" he frowned, handing it back to a nurse. "I've been here all morning."

"No, man, where were you all weekend? I left you like five voicemails."

"Oh," Derek replied, "I was busy." He smirked at Mark.

"Busy?" Mark said. "We had plans to watch the game," he said, hurt evident in his voice.

"Sorry, my friend, but I met a new friend who loves to fish just as much as I do and I couldn't say no."

Mark frowned. "Who? I'm your best friend. Have been forever. You ditched me for someone you just met? Who is the guy?"

Derek rolled his eyes. "Get a grip, it's Meredith's son. He's eight and he's fun to be around."

"Meredith Grey has a son?" Mark asked in astonishment. "How did I not know that?"

"Maybe because you never saw past getting her in the sack to get to know her," Derek said.

Mark thought a moment, then shrugged. "I suppose. Grey actually let you take her kid fishing?"

Derek smiled. "She went, too. We had a good time."

"You…and Grey…went fishing…together," Mark said slowly.

"Yes, I…we're seeing each other," Derek said. Mark was his best friend, but he'd always been hesitant to tell him anything. He gossiped worse than his Great Aunt Stephanie.

Mark slapped the counter, "You scored with Grey? How was she?"

Derek sighed. "I didn't score with her, Mark. I said we're seeing each other and if I did score, it's none of your business how she is."

Mark crossed his arms over his chest and studied Derek's face. "You like her," he decided.

Derek nodded. "Yes, she's great."

"You really, really like her," Mark said. "Fess up, man, you look all happy and…giddy. That freaking smile on your face when you talk about her is a mile long."

"There's definitely something between us," Derek agreed. "She's…funny, and smart, and a great mother," Derek shrugged. "I want to get to know her better."

"And the kid?" Mark asked.

"Jordan? He's a great kid. We have a lot in common. He likes to fish and he's a cub scout. I'll be helping him with that and I'm excited to spend time with him." Derek chuckled. "The kid is like his own comedy show. He cracks me up. Meredith really did a great job with him."

"No father?" Mark asked.

Derek shrugged. "Not in the picture. Did I mention he was a Yankee's fan?"

Mark nodded his approval. "Yankee's, huh? Grey did do a great job."

****

"So," Cristina prodded. "How was your weekend?"

"Fine," Meredith said, tapping her fingers against the counter.

"Just fine?" Cristina asked. "Spill."

"We had a good time, minus me falling into the lake," Meredith said.

"You fell in the lake?" Cristina snorted, shaking her head. "Only you, Mer."

"Jordan…I thought he was going to fall in, but Derek grabbed him and a wave tossed me over," Meredith explained. "Quite embarrassing."

"I bet," Cristina nodded. "But that's not why you're all weird and acting like a freak." She waited for Meredith to explain.

Meredith stared at her for a moment. "Jordan is going to a sleepover birthday party this weekend," she informed Cristina. "I'm thinking of inviting Derek over…you know."

"Oh, God, Meredith, don't tell me you're going to cook for him. He really likes you and you don't want to scare him away this soon, please," Cristina groaned.

"No! Not to cook," she paused. "You know."

Cristina frowned but it faded quickly when she realized what Meredith was saying. "Seriously? It's time, huh?"

"I don't know," Meredith said. "I want to…and I know he wants to…but it's just…I don't know."

"If you both want to bang, what is the problem?" Cristina asked.

"It's been…awhile…you know, since I…well," Meredith looked at the counter, avoiding eye contact.

Cristina raised her eyebrows. "How long?"

Meredith traced a mark on the counter. "Since…Jordan," she said quickly, looking up at Cristina.

Cristina's eyes got wide. "You haven't had sex in eight years," she hissed.

"Shh, shut up! Do you think I want the entire hospital knowing about my not so much sex life? Besides, it's been nine years. Jordan will be nine in two months."

Cristina took a moment to process what Meredith had just told her. "What about tattoo guy?" She was referring to the man that Meredith had met a few years ago while still living in Boston.

Meredith shrugged. "I told him about Jordan and he never called again."

Cristina smiled sympathetically. "This is a big step for you, isn't it?"

Meredith rolled her eyes. "Yes, I think my virginity grew back."

Cristina laughed. "You wish. It's like riding a bike, Mer. It all comes back to you the minute you sit on it." Meredith stared at her, unimpressed. "If you're still anything like the Meredith I knew in college, from what I'd overheard coming from our dorm room, Derek Shepherd is in for a great time."

Meredith sighed. "I…don't look like I used to."

"What?" Cristina asked. "You look like Barbie, only your boobs are smaller."

"Things jiggle now," Meredith informed her. Cristina rolled her eyes. Meredith was a freaking bean pole. "They do!" Meredith snapped. "Breastfeeding caused my boobs to sag, things are not how they used to be. I have tons of stretch marks."

"I know," Cristina smirked. "Twenty seven stretch marks to be exact."

"What?" Meredith gasped. "Twenty seven?"

"I won that game at your shower. 'Guess how many stretch marks Meredith has'. Lexie took you aside and counted them. I hit the nail right on the head."

Meredith groaned. "See?"

"Meredith, you need to calm down. Derek won't care if you have stretch marks or if things jiggle. Men don't care about those things as much as we think they do. It will be fine. Just keep the lights off."

Meredith giggled. "Sorry, Derek, the lights must be off if you want to score. That's the rule."

*****

'You paged," Derek grinned, walking into Meredith's office later that afternoon.

Meredith stood up quickly. Man she was nervous. "Yeah, you weren't in your office."

"I had a patient, I am a doctor, you know," he joked, coming up to her and wrapping his arms around her. "But you're like a sight for sore eyes." He kissed her softly. "What's up?"

"Uh, well, I…wondered what you're plans for Saturday night?" she asked nervously. Could he tell she was nervous?

Derek smiled. "I work until six, but then I'm free. Are you asking me out, Dr. Grey?"

Oh hell! He was calling her Dr. Grey. And he smelled delicious. Meredith could feel her body heat rising.

"I…uh…yeah. I mean, if you wanted to. Jordan is sleeping over at a friends and I thought we could…do something," she said softly. "But only if you want to."

"Sure," he smiled. "What were you thinking?"

Meredith held back a laugh. If he only knew what she was thinking. "What were you thinking?"

Derek thought for a moment. "I got nothing. You pick, okay? I'm fine with whatever just as long as I get to spend time with you."

Meredith melted at his words. "Okay," she agreed. Suddenly she got brave. "I…think I'm ready to compare notes."

Derek's eyes got wide for a moment. "Yeah?" he asked.

"Yeah," she agreed. "If you are."

"Oh, I'm ready," he nodded. "You're ready?"

"Yeah," she breathed. "But I can wait, if you're not."

"No, I am," Derek nodded. "Definitely."

"Good," she exhaled. "Saturday, then?"

Derek nodded. "Meredith, there's no pressure. Tell me if you think I'm pressuring you."

Meredith shook her head. "No, I don't feel pressured at all. I'm…it's just…it's been awhile…for me."

Derek nodded slowly. "Me, too. It will be fine, I promise."

"Fine?" Meredith smirked. "My notes say that it will be great."

"It will be great," he said, reassuring her with a kiss. Meredith pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. She honestly believed him, that whatever happened between them would be great. She trusted Derek Shepherd, a quality that she hadn't felt in someone in a long time.

**Leave me love!!  
**


	13. Comparing Notes

**Ugh, smut... This is one of those chapters where the more comments I get, the better I'll feel....What can I say, writing porn makes me very self consicous....**

**Lack of Jordan in this chapter, although I think at this point...we all know why....**

**Chapter Twelve: Comparing Notes**

Meredith was silent pretty much the entire ride from the restaurant back to her place. Her mind was running a mile a minute. She wanted this night to be perfect for the two of them. She wanted to be perfect for him. She was plucked and waxed and had a clean top on, and at the drug store today she had bought an economy pack of condoms. Yeah, she planned on taking full advantage of riding that bike.

Derek reached across the console of his car and intertwined their hands. She looked over at him and he met her gaze. He smiled at her reassuringly. She looked down at their hands, noticing how well they fit together.

Derek cleared his throat. "Mer, I know we talked about this already, but seriously, if you are not ready, just say so. There's no pressure."

Meredith looked at him and smiled. He really was her knight and shining…whatever. "I'm ready, Derek. I'm just nervous, that's all. Really, you're not pressuring me. You've been…perfect." She squeezed his hand and he returned the pressure. She had no idea why she was nervous, she never used to be. Things were different now. She had a son and every decision she made in life affected him. Not that sleeping with Derek in the physical sense affected him, but the emotional attachments that went along with it. She knew that once they consummated their relationship, her feelings would change…hopefully, for the better.

"I'm nervous, too," he admitted, pulling his car into her driveway. "It's been awhile for me, too." He turned the car off and looked over at her. He gave her that dreamy, turn Meredith into a puddle smile. "Let's go inside and whatever happens happens, okay?"

Meredith smiled back, "Okay."

The nervous churning in her stomach stopped almost entirely as they got out of the car and walked hand in hand inside. Derek helped her out of her coat once they were inside. After hanging both coats up on the coat rack, he moved closer to her and caressed her cheek. "Coffee?" he asked.

"Coffee," she agreed, following him into the kitchen. Man his ass looked great in those jeans. An awkward silence filled the room as they made coffee. They exchanged a few smiles when one caught the other's eye. She was glad Cristina wasn't here. She'd think this entire situation was hysterical and comment on how Meredith being quiet for more than a minute never happened. They were on minute five.

She turned to look at him from the sink. "So, you're a mystery to me," she announced.

Derek looked at her from behind the refrigerator door. "What?" he asked, shooting her a confused look as he grabbed the half and half and shut the door.

"You're a mystery," Meredith repeated. "We've been seeing each other for…well, awhile now and I hardly know anything about you. What are your grandparent's names? What do you do on your days off? What's your favorite flavor of ice cream? I want to know you, Derek."

Derek chuckled. "Okay," he said, coming up and pinning her against the counter, both of his hands on either side of her. "First of all, I don't have grandparents. My dad died when I was ten. I have four sisters, very girly with tons of kids; nine nieces and five nephews to be exact. I like to fly fish, which you already knew. I smoke an occasional cigar, but only when Mark buys them. I cheat when I do the crossword puzzle on Sunday." He thought for a moment. "I like coffee ice cream. My favorite color is blue, indigo, not light blue. Favorite book? The Sun Also Rises. My favorite band is the Clash. I never dance in public and I live in a trailer not a camper." He smirked. "But you can call it whatever you want."

Meredith giggled. "Why do you live in a camper or a trailer, or whatever?"

Derek took a deep breath. "I've been divorced for almost a year now. I walked in on my wife in bed with her boss on my favorite flannel sheets. I moved to Seattle to start over. Mark was here and Richard offered me head of neuro, so I jumped on it." His face inched closer to hers. "Which I'm glad I did because I've met some very important people here."

"Really?" Meredith whispered, placing her hands on his chest.

"Really," he replied. "Meeting you was like coming up for fresh air. It was like you saved me when I was drowning." He kissed her forehead. "Thank you."

It was then that Meredith lost all train of thought as she moved her hands to the back of his neck and pulled his face towards hers. Who the fuck cared if things jiggled and sagged and she had twenty seven stretch marks. Derek was there and he was saying things to her and that was all that mattered.

She slipped her tongue into his mouth and her stomach fueled more as she heard him moan into her mouth. Her panties were wet, without a doubt. Her body was telling her that she was ready for this, but her freaking mind wouldn't shut the fuck up. Stretch marks, flab, saggy boobs.

She pulled away breathlessly. Derek studied her face while he regulated his breathing. "I have a son," Meredith blurted.

Derek nodded slowly. "Yes, I know," he said.

"It…he…it's been awhile," she said. "You know, since I've…done anything with anyone," she confessed.

Derek nodded again. "I'm aware of that, you told me already. It's been awhile for me, too. It's okay."

Meredith shook her head. "You don't understand, Derek. It's been awhile," she said, putting emphasis on the 'i'.

Derek pursed his lips together. "Okay, if I may ask, how long has it been?"

Meredith studied his face. "Nine years," she said, looking him straight in the eye.

Derek raised his eyebrows, "That's awhile," he agreed. "But I'm missing the issue."

"I have stretch marks!" she blurted. She lowered her voice, "and saggy boobs and things that jiggle. I don't look the way I used to, before Jordan."

"I don't…know what you looked like before Jordan, Meredith," Derek said. "I only know the way you look now." He shrugged. "I think you're beautiful and you're perfect the way you are. I don't want you any other way." He smiled at her reassuringly.

Meredith closed her eyes for a moment, letting his wondrous words sink into her soul. She could do this. She wanted to do this. She wanted this with him. Meredith opened her eyes and stared into his dark blue ones. "I want you," she murmured, pulling the tails of his shirt out of his jeans. "Take me for a ride, Derek."

Derek wasted no time sweeping her up into his arms and carrying her out of the kitchen. Meredith wrapped her arms and legs tightly around him as she licked, nipped and sucked at his neck. From his deep moaning and the bulge that was poking at her core through his jeans, she knew that it was becoming difficult for him to carry her. He stopped halfway up the stairs on the landing and propped her up against the wall. He pulled back on her hair roughly, her head falling back and her neck exposed. He trailed his lips along her neck and sucked on her clavicle. He moved his way up to her ear and sucked on her lobe. "God, I want you," he husked in her ear, moving his hand under her shirt and cupping her breast through her bra.

Meredith moaned at his touch. "I want you more," she whispered.

Meredith unhooked her legs from around his waist and quickly planted her feet on the floor. She smirked at him as she unbuttoned his shirt quickly and pushed it off his shoulders. She moved the palms of her hands over the fine dust of hair that splayed on his chest. She moved her hands down finding his belt buckle in the process. She placed kisses up and down his chest, stopping occasionally to meet his lips in a fiery kiss.

She managed to unbuckle his belt and immediately popped open the button of his jeans. She trailed kisses down his chest, to his stomach and knelt down in front of him, pulling his jeans and boxers down, his member springing out to greet her. She smiled to herself, this was definitely a dream come true. She let him kick his sneakers and jeans off, tossing them with his legs into the corner.

Derek let out a deep moan as she took him fully into her mouth, licking and sucking his shaft as her hands moved up and down his thighs softly. Meredith swirled her tongue around the tip, feeling his hands raking through her hair and holding onto her skull. She could here his groaning and panting and it silently reassured her that she was pleasuring him. She hummed as she deep throated him, hearing him to call out her name in pleasure. His hands moved from her head to the wall behind him.

"Meredith," he breathed. She knew that as her warning, but she ignored him, taking him into her mouth deeper and sucking harder. She deep throated him, once, twice, humming and massaging his sack with her palm. She heard him bang his hand against the wall, moaning deeply. "Meredith," she heard him groan as he released into her mouth. "Holy shit," he muttered as he came. He let out an animalistic sound that made her giggle.

Meredith licked him clean and kissed her way back up his chest, standing up and facing him. She shrieked when he picked her back up and carried her the rest of the way up the stairs and to her bedroom. He flung open her door and flopped her onto the bed, moving his body over hers. "I want you naked, now," he growled.

Meredith immediately lifted her arms, allowing him to remove her sweater and camisole. He reached behind her and unhooked her bra, exposing her perfect breasts. He leaned down and took one of her nipples into his mouth, massaging it with his tongue. Meredith flanked his head with her palms, encouraging him to continue. He moved to the other breast and mimicked his motions, licking and sucking until her nipple was hard. His lips trailed to the valley between her breasts and down to her belly button.

Meredith kicked off her shoes as Derek quickly unbuttoned and removed her jeans, pressing kisses along her stomach. He smiled to himself as his lips brushed across uneven skin under her belly button. The sign that she was truly a woman. A characteristic about herself that she should not be ashamed of. To him, she was perfect.

He moved further towards her core and pressed soft kisses to her inner thighs. "You are amazing," he whispered, moving his fingers around her panties and pulling them down her smooth legs. She moaned reply quickly turned into a yelp as his mouth descended on her wet core. He took his time, gently exposing her delicate folds with his fingers and making sure he licked every inch of her. Her essence was a drug, he couldn't taste enough of her.

His tongue moved to her clit, where he teased and sucked at it endlessly, to the point where her legs were trembling and she was crying out freely. He quickly siphoned her juices as she came, making sure to get every last drop before he kissed his way back up her body and nudged her nose with his. "Hey," he whispered, kissing the tip of her nose.

"Hey," she said hoarsely. "That was…incredible." She leaned up slightly and smothered her lips with his, darting her tongue into his mouth and tasting herself on him. "I need you now," she whispered as she pulled away, reaching above her to open her night stand. She pulled out a string of condoms and ripped one open.

Derek raised an eyebrow at the string of condoms. "Glad we ate dinner first," he joked. "I have a feeling we'll be burning off a lot of calories tonight."

"Definitely," she grinned, grabbing the condoms and ripping off one. Derek watched her curiously as she rolled him onto his back and expertly sheathed him. Meredith straddled him, leaning up to kiss him passionately as Derek's hands trailed down her sides and to her hips, silently telling her that he needed her just as much as she needed him. She reached between them and positioned him at her core, allowing him to slowly push her hips down so that she had taken all of him. They both moaned in pleasure.

Meredith paused for a moment, allowing herself to adjust to his size, but quickly began moving her hips in quick figure eights, hitting all of her pleasure points. Derek thrust his hips up, needing more from her. He grabbed her hips and moved her up and down his shaft over and over again until Derek could feel her walls clamping down on him. Derek moved his hand between her legs and massaged her clit in slow circles. He watched in amazement as her orgasm overtook her body, causing her to tremble uncontrollably as she chanted his name over and over again. He felt her walls milk him dry. His eyes rolled back in his head and he groaned her name as he came.

Meredith hovered over him for a moment. They kissed each other deeply as they both came down from their highs. "Come here," he murmured, pulling her down beside him. He wrapped his arms around her as she snuggled up next to him, her fingers dancing along his chest.

Meredith exhaled deeply. "Wow, that was the best get back on the saddle sex ever."

Derek kissed the top of her head and grinned. "Wanna go again?" he asked, still slightly out of breath.

Meredith giggled, rolling back over on top of him and kissing him softly on the lips. "You bet, Dr. Shepherd, I plan to go all night."

**I need a drink...**


	14. Toothbrushes and Keys

**Hey! Thanks everyone for your rocking reviews! Hope you enjoy the chapter.**

**Chapter Thirteen: Toothbrushes and Keys**

Meredith awoke to the sound of her cell phone beeping, alerting her that she had a text message. She reached over and grabbed her phone, noticing that the message was from Cristina.

**Well? Did Mr. Fix it tighten your screws or what? **Her text said.

Meredith rolled over onto her back, groaning softly at how sore her body was. It was no wonder. She literally had sex all night last night with Derek. That man had stamina and man he was great in bed. She lost count of how many orgasms she'd had and she was glad that she'd invested in so many condoms. She was sure that they had depleted their supply.

She cautiously rolled over to her other side, noticing that his side of the bed was empty. The last thing she remembered was him wrapping his arms around her as she fell asleep. She sat up and looked around the room. He was still here because his clothes were lying in a pile in front of the bathroom. It was then that she smelled a delicious aroma coming from downstairs.

She flipped open her phone and sent Cristina a text, telling her that she would call her later. She got out of bed and put her silk robe on, walking down stairs and following the yummy smell. She stopped at the doorway of the kitchen and watched. Derek was at the stove in his boxers making what appeared to be pancakes. She smiled to herself. He was making breakfast.

He looked up, noticing her in the doorway. His face broke out into a wide smile. "Morning," he said, his eyes twinkling.

"Good morning," she replied, walking into the kitchen and over to the coffee pot. He had made coffee, too. This man was too good to be true. She reached into the cupboard and grabbed a mug. "What are you doing?" she asked over her shoulder.

Derek opened the refrigerator and grabbed the creamer. He walked up behind her and placed the carton beside her cup. He kissed the back of her neck softly. Meredith shivered at his touch. "Making you breakfast," he murmured in her ear. "I figured after the night we had together, you'd be very hungry this morning."

Meredith laughed and turned around to face him. "I'm famished," she said, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him softly. She studied his face for a moment. Back came her uncertainty. "So, you had a good time last night?" she asked.

Derek tilted his head and gave her a look. "I had an excellent time last night, Dr. Grey. I hope we can do it again…very soon." He kissed her again. "You're amazing."

"You're amazing," she repeated, kissing him again. They pulled away from each other breathlessly and stared into each other's eyes.

"Breakfast?" he asked.

"Breakfast," she agreed, allowing him to lead her to the table. He pulled her seat out for her and gently pushed it in when she sat down.

Derek chuckled when she put five pancakes on her plate. She looked up at him and gave him a sheepish smile. "I told you I was hungry," she said, pouring a large amount of syrup on them. She was getting ready to take a bite when they heard the front door open.

"Mom!" Jordan's voice echoed throughout the downstairs. Derek and Meredith looked at each other with wide eyes, realizing that she was in her robe and he was in his underwear. How were they going to explain this one. "I'm hoooome," Jordan yelled, dropping his backpack and sleeping bag in a pile in front of the steps. "I smell food."

Derek and Meredith braced themselves as Jordan walked into the kitchen. "Hi, Mom," he said, standing at the table studying the pancakes. He looked over at Derek. "Hi, Derek." he said.

"Hey, bud," Derek said, glancing at Meredith. Jordan didn't appear at all shocked that he was there in the kitchen in his underwear.

"Hungry?" Meredith asked, pushing her plate towards Jordan.

Jordan nodded and sat down across from her, but suddenly stopped. "Mom," he said hesitantly. "Who made these?"

Meredith rolled her eyes. "Derek," she replied.

Jordan giggled. "I thought so because they're not burned." he picked up his fork and started shoving the pancakes into his mouth. He turned towards Derek. "Thanks for coming over to cook my mom breakfast, Derek. She burns everything and I wasn't here this morning to make sure that didn't happen."

Meredith held back a laugh as she saw Derek let out a huge breath. They were off the hook. "No problem, bud," Derek said, grinning at Meredith. "I just had a feeling your mom would be hungry this morning."

****

"Mom didn't yell at you for walking around in your underwear did she?" Jordan asked later as he and Derek sat on the couch watching cartoons. "She yells at me when I do it."

Derek bit back a laugh. "No, she didn't yell. I think she was just happy that I made her pancakes."

Jordan nodded. "Did you sleep over?"

Derek looked at him for a moment. How the hell did he answer this? Meredith fled the scene, saying that she needed to go upstairs to take a shower, leaving him to explain to an eight year old why he spent the night with his mother. "I…did," he said, struggling for the words. He busied himself with watching the television, hoping that Jordan would drop the subject. Wishful thinking.

"You did?" Jordan asked, his eyes never leaving Derek's face.

Derek cleared his throat and looked down at him. "I did," he nodded. "Is that okay with you?"

Jordan thought for a moment. "Where'd you sleep?"

He needed a to find a rock to crawl under, fast. Nothing like being put on the spot. "I…slept with your mom," he braced himself for the next question. He didn't know if he was telling him the right thing, but he knew he wasn't going to lie to the kid.

"Oh," Jordan said. Derek could see his brain processing the information that he just gave it. "Did you get any sleep?"

Scratch that thought. He couldn't answer that question honestly. "Yep, all night long."

Jordan laughed. "That's good because when I sleep with mom, she wakes me up all night with her snoring. You can sleep with her from now own because she likes to cuddle. I can't because I need my sleep. I'm a growing boy."

***

Meredith flopped down on her bed after her shower, embracing the time to herself. While she was in the shower, Derek had come upstairs to tell her that he and Jordan were going to the grocery store. He had figured that he might as well make her all of her meals that day, so he needed to go to the store to get the needed ingredients for lunch and dinner.

Meredith sighed deeply. Last night with Derek was amazing. He was an amazing lover. He was attentive to her and put her needs first before his own. The way he worshipped her body as he made love to her was unforgettable. Made love, that was the appropriate words to use, because Meredith knew without a doubt that she was falling in love with Derek Shepherd.

Her reverie was interrupted by her cell phone ringing on the stand beside her. She rolled over to grab it, noticing that it was Cristina. Crap, she had forgotten to call her.

"Hey," Meredith answered. "Sorry, forgot to call."

"Yeah," Cristina said. "Thought I'd have heard from you by now." Silence. "Well, I'm not getting any younger."

"It was amazing," Meredith admitted. "I…" Meredith could tell Cristina anything. She told Cristina everything. She felt tears brimming her eyes. "Never mind, you'll think I'm crazy," she confessed.

"Too late," Cristina joked. "I already think you're crazy, but please, humor me."

"I'm in love with him," she said softly, closing her eyes at the realization that the words she had said over and over again in her head were now breathed out into the open.

"Duh," Cristina said. Come again?

"What?" Meredith asked, wiping her eyes.

"I've known that since the day you started talking about him, Meredith. Only, then he was the maintenance man, not the head of neuro," Cristina said.

"I so was not in love with him then," Meredith argued.

"Oh, God," Cristina groaned. "You so were. I can read you like a book and I read, plain as day, that you were in love. It's almost nauseating."

"Bitch," Meredith said.

"That's Queen Bitch to you, missy."

"You think you're so smart," Meredith taunted.

"Smarter than you," Cristina replied.

"Never," Meredith argued. "You'll never be smarter than me."

"Says who?" Cristina demanded.

"Jordan, he will tell you flat out that his mother is the smartest person in the world."

Cristina groaned. "Mer, I hate to break it to you, but he's trying to score points with you now so that you won't get mad at him when the time comes to put your ass into a nursing home."

****

"Thanks for buying me these little green army men," Jordan said to Derek as they walked into the house.

"You're welcome," Derek replied, ruffling his hair.

"I'm going to go upstairs to my room and play with them. Yell for me when dinner is done," Jordan scurried up the stairs.

Derek walked towards the kitchen, pausing at the door. He could feel the goofy grin spread across his face as he watched Meredith standing at the sink, rinsing off the breakfast dishes. The thought of her made his heart flutter in his chest. There was no denying it, he was in love with Meredith Grey. He's suspected it for awhile, but after making love to her over and over again last night, he'd realized how much she really meant to him. He was in deep.

Meredith looked up towards the doorway and noticed him. "Hey, you're back," she said, wiping her hands off on a dish towel and walking towards him.

"I'm back," he said, walking forward and putting the grocery bag on the counter. "I have something for you," he said, reaching into the bag.

Meredith grinned. "Funny you should say that because I have something for you, too."

"Oh, okay," Derek nodded, pulling his hand back out of the grocery bag. "You go first."

Meredith smiled as she reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a key. She handed it to him. "This is yours. It's a key to my house. I want you to have a key to my house," she said.

Derek smiled and took the key from her. He looked at it for a moment before reaching in the pocket of his coat and pulling out his keychain. He looked up at her and smiled as he added her house key to his key chain.

"Your turn," she said.

Derek reached back into the bag and pulled out a toothbrush. "It's a toothbrush for here," he explained. "If you want me to have a toothbrush here."

Meredith giggled and grabbed it from him. "Of course, I do," she said, coming around the table to hug him.

They held each other for a moment before Derek pulled away to look at her. "You know, some people would consider this a relationship," he said. "One where you exchange keys and leave your toothbrush over."

"Who would? Who would call it that?" Meredith challenged.

"Me," Derek said, kissing her fully on the lips. "I would."

The two were interrupted by Jordan walking into the kitchen. He groaned when he saw the two of them wrapped in each other's arms. He smirked at them as he went to the refrigerator for a juice box. "Derek and Meredith sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G," he chanted. "First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Derek with a baby carriage." Jordan grabbed what he needed from the fridge and wiggled his eyebrows at them as he walked past them and into the living room.

Meredith looked up at Derek skeptically. "You're sure about this?" she asked jokingly.

Derek smiled and pressed his lips to hers. "Absolutely."

**Leave comments! Come on, you know you want to!**


	15. Three Little Words

**This chapter is full of cheese. If anyone here is lactose intolerant, the cheese may disagree with you….**

**Chapter Fourteen: Three Little Words**"Cristina, you have to help me!" Meredith cried, grabbing onto Cristina. Cristina looked at her like she had lost her mind.  
"You're touching me," Cristina observed, eyeing Meredith's hands that were currently gripping her upper arms. "Hands off."  
Meredith dropped her arms immediately. "I need your help Saturday," she said.  
Cristina gave her a confused look. "With what?"  
Meredith smiled widely at her. "Jordan's birthday party," she said quickly.  
Cristina shook her head back and forth. "No," she said. "No freaking way, Meredith." She turned on her heel and walked down the hall with Meredith quickly in tow.  
"Please," Meredith begged. "I don't know what I was thinking. I told Jordan that he could invite his friends, not thinking that he had like ten and all of the parents of those ten friends called and said that they would be there. I'm in over my head here!" Meredith stopped quickly as Cristina turned to look at her. "Please?" she smiled.  
"Meredith," Cristina said, closing her eyes briefly. "How do I put this nicely?" She waved her hand dismissively. "Whatever, you know me, so I'll be blunt. I hate kids, you know that, and the only kid that managed to worm his little way into my heart is your offspring. Don't press your luck with me."  
"I'll write you a check," Meredith offered. "Name your price."  
Cristina placed her hands on her hips. "No amount of money in the world would bribe me into chaperoning a birthday party." A sly smile formed on her face. "Hey, I have an idea. Ask Derek; you can bribe him with sex and not a check."  
"You suck," Meredith said.  
"No, if I recall correctly, the last one that did that between the two of us was you." Cristina smirked and made her way down the hall.

***

"Derek, why do girls wear bras?" Jordan asked from the back seat of Derek's Lexus as they drove to cub scouts.  
Derek glanced at him in the rearview mirror. Just minutes ago, Jordan was reciting to him the Cub Scout promise that he had to learn and then, out of the blue, he spouts off that question. "What?" Derek asked.  
"You know," Jordan said, rolling his eyes. "Girls wear those things that look like a sling shot," he explained. "Why do they wear them?"  
Derek bit back a laugh. A sling shot? "Well," Derek started. "Why do you think they wear them?"  
Jordan shrugged. "I dun no," he said. "Mom says that hers drives her crazy and she would be happy if she didn't need to wear one."  
"Oh," Derek answered. "Hmmmm," he wasn't sure what to say at that point.  
"And they look weird," Jordan added.  
"Weird? What do you mean?" Derek asked, very interested in what he had to say. He turned to look at Jordan in the backseat when he stopped at the traffic light.  
"Well, one time, and don't you tell on me, I was looking through mom's dresser and found lots of them with fur and chains and she even had a pair of handcuffs. She must have wanted to be a cop at one time. Hey, you know what, if her bras drive her crazy, then maybe she should get one without all that stuff on them, right?"  
Jordan waited for Derek to answer. Derek's mind was elsewhere with this new found information. He could feel his pants become tighter at the thought of Meredith having those…accessories. He smiled mischievously to himself at all of the opportunities that suddenly fell in his path. He made a mental note to check out the situation later on this evening once he and Jordan got back from their cub scout meeting.  
"Green means go," Jordan said from the backseat. Derek noticed that the light had turned green and proceeded into the intersection. Jordan turned to look at the McDonalds that they passed. "Hey, do you think I could get a job there?" Jordan asked. "Cause I really need the money."  
"Behind on your rent?" Derek joked, turning into the school where the meeting was being held.  
"No!" Jordan laughed. "I need money."  
"You do?" Derek said, pulling into a parking spot. "You're eight years old. Money and a job should be the least of your worries right now."  
"I need money," Jordan repeated. "And a wallet to put my money in."  
"What do you need money for?" Derek asked, getting out of the car and opening the back door so Jordan could get out.  
"Don't guys with girlfriends need money?" Jordan asked, walking through the door when Derek held it open for him.  
"You have a girlfriend?" Derek asked, slightly dumbfounded.  
"Yeah, Megan. She's hot."  
Derek shook his head, chuckling as he followed Jordan into the building. He was definitely at a loss for words after that.

****

You could add God send to the list of qualities that Meredith loved about Derek Shepherd. He literally saved her life. Seriously, the man swooped in and took over Jordan's birthday party like hosting birthday parties was his second profession, after being a world renowned brain surgeon. He was a hit with the kids. He played games with them, kept them entertained, and told Meredith to sit back and enjoy her son's ninth birthday party.

Just watching him with the kids made her want to produce little Shepherd babies. Crap, did she just think that? It was evident that she had gone crazy…or drunk in love. Crazy would have been the better situation of the two, at least medication could control the symptoms.

Not only did the kids love Derek, but so did her father and step mother. Susan had pulled Meredith aside halfway through Jordan's party and wanted to know where she found him. Thatcher took to him, too. Derek was interested, or at least put on a good show of being interested, in the research that her father was doing. Derek's interaction with everyone was, to say the least, weird, but strangely comfortable.

After Jordan's guests left, she and Derek lounged on the couch while Jordan played with his toys. "Did you have a good party, Jordan?" Meredith asked.

"I had the best party ever, thanks Mom and Derek!" Jordan exclaimed, ripping open his new Star Wars action figures. "Cool, Yoda!"

Derek suddenly got up. "I totally forgot, bud," he said, going into the kitchen and presenting Jordan with several wrapped gifts. "From me to you," Derek smiled.

Jordan beamed as he ripped open the paper. "Cool! A new fly rod! And wader boots, and a fishing vest!"

Meredith raised her eyebrows. "You got him a new fishing gear?"

"Fly fishing gear," Derek corrected her. "There is a difference."

Jordan looked out the window. "The sun is still out. Can we go fishing? I want to try out my new stuff," he hopped up, ran over to Derek and started bouncing up and down. "Can we go? Please?"

Derek looked at Meredith. "Can we?" he asked.

Meredith smiled. "Go, I'll clean up this disaster area. Have fun."

"Awesome!" Jordan exclaimed, gathering up his new gear. "Meet you in the car!"

Meredith stood up and sighed, moving closer to him. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. "Thank you, for helping and just…being here," she murmured. "I would have gone crazy without you. I owe you big."

Derek smirked, running the palms of his hands up and down her back. His mind went to Meredith's dresser drawer full of…toys. He kissed the top of her head. "You do," he agreed. "Later?"

Meredith looked up at him curiously. "What did you have in mind?"

He kissed her soundly on the lips. "You may want to invest in a lock for that one drawer of yours. I've heard there are some pretty…interesting things inside it." He chuckled at Meredith's suddenly flustered expression. "If I was you, I'd take a power nap, because once Jordan goes to bed, you're all mine."

***

They had only been together for a little over three months, but Meredith couldn't shake the feeling that she got when Derek looked at her, touched her, or made love to her. The feeling was intense. She loved the way he made her feel, how good he was with Jordan and the fact that Jordan's existence didn't scare him off. Not to mention that he was really, really good in bed.

Which reminded her, how the hell did he know about her secret stash of sex toys in her dresser drawer? She smiled to herself as she rinsed off the dishes and put them into the dishwasher. He was probably snooping, like one of those crazy stalker men who sniffed women's underwear. The thought of that made her giggle.

"What's so funny," a voice said from the doorway. Meredith was too preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't hear Jordan and Derek come home. She jumped slightly and spun around to face him.

"Nothing," she said. "Hey." She noticed that he had a goofy grin plastered across his face. How long had he been watching her?

"Hey," he said, walking into the kitchen and standing nervously with his hands in his pockets. "I…had this all planned out and now I got nothing," he said.

Meredith cleared her throat, suddenly nervous as well. "How was fishing?"

Derek grinned. "You know, it's strange. We caught dozens of fish this time."

"Yeah," Meredith rolled her eyes. "I wasn't there to scare them away."

The room became silent again. Meredith nervously folded a napkin that was on the table. "So, what were you planning to tell me?" Meredith prodded.

Derek looked at the floor for a moment. "I had this big speech planned. I thought about it over and over in my head and I was going to…come right out and tell you…what I wanted to say was…" he paused, stumbling slightly over the words he was trying to say. Meredith studied his face, waiting for him to speak. He looked up at her and smiled. "I'm in love with you," he said softly. "I've been in love with you…forever. I know it's early. I know I'm early in saying that, but I love you." He paused for a moment to see her reaction. Tears were brimming in her eyes, so he continued. "You…and Jordan, you both mean the world to me and I am so thankful that I moved to Seattle and met you. You've changed my life, for the better."

He was standing in her kitchen, telling her that he loved her. In that moment, the girl who always seemed to have verbal diarrhea was suddenly constipated. Her mouth would not form words.

Derek waited for her to speak, getting more nervous by the second. Did he tell her too soon? Was she on the verge of freaking out? Keep talking. "It's…the way you move your hands when you ramble," he said, walking around the table to her. "And you hair," he said, coming up next to her.

"My…my hair?" she asked softly, looking up at him.

"It smells good," he said. "And you're very, very bossy. It keeps me in line." He traced her cheek with his thumb. "I love you, Meredith," he murmured, looking into her eyes.

Meredith closed her eyes for a moment, savoring his touch. She could do this. She could fall in love and be happy right? There was nothing wrong with that and Derek made her so happy. She reached up and put her hand over his hand that was touching her face. She turned her face to kiss the palm of his hand. "I love you, too," she whispered.

**Christmas update next…..**


	16. Ear Plugs

**This chapter was inspired by "Six Days 1 & 2", my most favorite episode(s) of season 3. I know I told you that the next update was the Christmas update, but I decided to post half of it now and the other half a little closer to Christmas. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

**Chapter Fifteen: Ear Plugs**

"Your mom is working late tonight," Derek informed Jordan as they walked into Meredith's house. "So, it's just you and me for awhile. What did you want to do?" Derek had picked Jordan up from school that day because Meredith had gotten called into an emergency surgery.

Jordan opened up the refrigerator and grabbed an apple. "We can play with my new toys," he suggested.

Derek nodded. "Sounds like a plan," he said.

"Be right back," Jordan yelled, running out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

Derek opened the freezer, debating what to make the two of them for dinner. He pulled out some chicken breasts and put them in the microwave to defrost. He heard Jordan enter the kitchen. "How does chicken sound for dinner?" Derek asked over his shoulder.

"Good," Jordan said. "We can play these new Wii games afterward," he said. Derek turned around to Jordan holding up five new video games. "And then after that, we can put together my air hockey table. I had asked Santa for one, but mom must have gotten it for me already."

Derek's eyes got wide. "Where did you get that stuff?"

"The attic," Jordan replied. "I found all this neat stuff yesterday when I was playing fort up there. Mom must have forgotten to give it to me for my birthday."

"Uh," Derek said. He recognized the games that Jordan was holding and the air hockey table he was talking about. Meredith had him haul all of those things from her car to the attic last week after she dragged him Christmas shopping. She said that Jordan would never find his gifts there. Yeah, right.

"Bud," Derek started. He had to think of something clever to say, but it was hard when the kid you were trying to fool was smarter than a whip. "I…think your mom bought those things for the hospital." Lame, Derek.

Jordan frowned. "The hospital? Why would she do that?"

Derek nodded, taking the games from Jordan and placing them on the table. "Yeah, for the kids on the pediatric unit who won't get to be home for Christmas. The doctors always buy gifts for them." That sounded slightly better.

"But I asked Santa for those things," he argued, staring at the games.

"Well," Derek thought. "Then maybe Santa will get you them. Remind him tomorrow night at the hospital Christmas party." Jordan stared at him with a disgruntled look. Derek needed to a distraction and quick. "You know what? I'm hungry for pizza."

Jordan's face lit up. "Yes!" he said. "Macaroni and Cheese pizza, here we come! I'll get my coat," he ran out of the room.

Derek groaned. Not again. He quickly took the chicken out of the microwave and put it back in the freezer. He washed his hands quickly and opened the cabinet above the coffee pot. He grabbed the economy sized container of Tums. They would make the perfect after dinner mint.

"Hey," Meredith said, opening up her bedroom door. Derek was propped up against the pillows reading a medical journal.

He looked up and smiled at her. "Hey," he said, closing the book and tossing it aside.

She stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. "You're…" she started.

"Naked and waiting for you," he said suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

Meredith giggled and sat down next to him. She had to talk to him about something, but apparently he had other things in mind. He leaned in to kiss her, but she pulled away quickly. "Wait," she said. "We have to talk."

"Sex now, talk later," he murmured, pulling her to him and kissing her. She sighed into the kiss, running her hands up and down his chest. She deepened the kiss, granting his tongue access to enter her mouth. Their tongues massaged each other softly.

"Tomorrow," she muttered against his lips. She had to tell him about tomorrow.

"No," he husked. "Right now."

Meredith smiled. "Tomorrow," she repeated, pulling away breathlessly. "I have to tell you about tomorrow."

Derek frowned, because he was horny and ready and she was stalling. "What's tomorrow?" he asked.

"The hospital Christmas party," she reminded him.

"Yeah," he said knowingly. "What does that have to do with what we're trying to do now?"

"Well," Meredith hesitated. "What I tell you may affect what we're trying to do now."

Derek sighed and leaned back against the pillows. He crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for her to talk. "Owen is sick, so he can't be Santa," she explained. "So, I kind of did…or volunteered someone to replace him."

Derek stared at her. He knew where this was going. "Meredith," he groaned.

"I volunteered you to be Santa," she said quickly. "I'm sorry! I don't know what came over me. We were all standing there, debating what to do. Arizona was adamant that we needed to find someone because the kids in peds would be crushed. So, I thought about all the sad kids in the hospital that wouldn't see Santa and I thought about you and…well, you know me…I just blurted out that you'd do it." She covered her face with her hands. "Don't hate me."

Derek stared at her incredulously. "I can't be Santa," he argued. "I look nothing like the man. He's got the belly…"

"We borrowed a strap on pregnancy belly from OB," she said quickly.

Derek paused. "And the beard…" he argued.

"The suit came with stick on facial hair," she said. She bit her lip and raised her eyebrows at him. "Please? Think of all the disappointed kids, Derek. Please?"

Derek stared at her for a moment and sighed. He couldn't say no to her, not now not ever. "Santa?" he whined. Meredith nodded slowly and smiled widely at him.

A sly smile broke out on Derek's face. "I'll need to practice the whole sitting in the lap thing and you're just the right person to help."

Meredith giggled. "How so?" she teased.

Derek pointed to the drawer of Meredith's that he'd grown to love and cherish. "The one that looks like a candy cane," he told her.

Meredith looked at the drawer and then back at him. "The one with the g-string?" she asked. Derek nodded, his eyes already glazed over at the thought of Meredith in the outfit. Meredith laughed and got up, moving across the room. "Oh, Dr. Shepherd. You are a naughty, naughty boy." She opened the drawer and presented the red and white striped mini dress with the g-string. She held it up to show him.

"That's the one," he nodded, his eyes never leaving her. "And don't forget those hand cuffs."

****

Derek shuffled tiredly into Jordan's room, stepping on something sharp. He winced in pain as the object jabbed into the bottom of his foot. He looked down grumpily. Freaking little green army men. He crawled in the side of Jordan's bed that he wasn't sleeping in, trying his best not to wake him. The sleeping quarters were cramped, to say the least, in Jordan's twin bed.

"What are you doing?" Jordan asked sleepily.

"Coming to sleep with you," Derek muttered. "You have the only other alarm clock in this house."

"I told you she snored," Jordan said, turning on his side to face him. "Can't sleep, huh?"

"No," Derek groaned. "I woke out of a dead sleep to the constant sawing of wood." He fluffed up the pillow, trying to get comfortable. "And your mom sleeps in the middle of the bed."

"You should ask Santa to bring you some wax ear plugs for Christmas," Jordan suggested. "Nana uses them because she says Poppy snores like a trucker."

"She gets it honest," Derek muttered.

"Sometimes, I just put my head under my pillow like this," he demonstrated by ducking his head under his pillow. He pulled it back out after a few seconds. "Especially when she does all that moaning. She was doing it tonight, didn't you hear her?"

Derek scratched his head. From now on, make sure the kid is asleep for you take his mom to bed. "Oh, that moaning," he nodded. "She was…dreaming."

"Yeah," Jordan agreed. "I think you were in the dream because she kept yelling your name."

"Jordan," Derek sighed. "Go back to sleep."

"Good night," Jordan turned so that his back was facing Derek. He turned around for a second. "Mom says I kick in my sleep, so guard your coconuts."

Derek nodded. "Thanks for the warning," he said, turning to face away from Jordan in order to protect the family jewels.

****

"Good morning," Derek said, walking into the kitchen. Meredith sat at the table with her coffee, reading the newspaper. She pretended not to hear him.

"What's for breakfast," Jordan said, coming into the kitchen. Derek held up a box of Muesli and Jordan scrunched up his nose. "No way, that stuff tastes like cardboard!"

"Good morning, Jordan," Meredith said. "Toast?" Jordan nodded. Meredith stood and walked towards the toaster, but Derek had beaten her to it. He quickly put two slices of bread into the toaster. She sighed and turned to go back to the table, but Derek grabbed her arm before she could.

"Hey," he whispered. "Why are you not talking to me?" Meredith looked away from him, staying silent. Derek frowned. "Did we not just have an amazing night of sex?" he asked. Meredith nodded slightly. "What's the problem, then?" he asked.

Derek took a moment to grab the toast out of the toaster and put it on a plate. He smothered the toast with peanut butter and placed it in front of Jordan. Jordan gave him a thumbs up and took a big bite.

Derek walked back over to Meredith and wrapped his arms around her. She wouldn't meet his gaze. "I'm waiting for the problem," he prompted.

She looked him in the eye. "I woke up this morning and you weren't there," she said quietly.

Derek frowned. Was she really that insecure? "I was sleeping with Jordan," Derek informed her.

"Why were you sleeping with Jordan?" she asked. "You are supposed to sleep with me."

Derek opened his mouth to reply, but Jordan beat him to it. "Because you snore, mom," he said simply.

Meredith looked past Derek at Jordan. "I do not," she argued.

Jordan nodded. "You do." He continued to eat his breakfast.

Meredith looked at Derek for confirmation. Derek smiled cautiously at her. "You do….snore a little."

"I do not!" she exclaimed.

"Mom," Jordan groaned. "You do. Deal with it."

"I love it," Derek said, kissing her softly. "I love that such a big noise can come from such a little person." He kissed her again.

Meredith glared at him. She did not freaking snore. "You know what's not charming?"

"What?" Derek asked, chuckling a little.

"Your morning breath," she retorted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What?" Derek exclaimed. "I don't have morning breath!" He cupped his hands over his mouth to prove it.

"Derek, you do so," Jordan said. "Bad."

Meredith smiled at him smugly. "I rest my case," she said. "A toothbrush goes a long way."

Derek glared at her. "And a nose strip goes a long way," he countered.

She glared back. "You know, you have your own place, you could sleep at it," she reminded him. "So my snoring doesn't keep you up all night."

"I just might," he said, putting his hands on his hips.

"Whatever," she said. "Go to work."

"Fine," he said, dramatically grabbing his briefcase. He wiggled his eyebrows at her, patted Jordan on the head, and walked out of the kitchen. He turned to look at her. "I love you," he said.

She smiled despite herself. "Love you, too."

"That's just gross," Jordan groaned.

**OK, the rest of the Christmas chapter up before Christmas……Little surprise in there for everyone :)**


	17. Dirty Santa

**Part Two....**

**Enjoy the fluffernutter - my new word for smut. Apparently the word 'smut' means degrading porn. Not the case with Derek and Meredith. Their lovin is like fluffernutter. Enough said. **

**Chapter Sixteen: Dirty Santa  
**

"Hold still!" Meredith said as she attached the stick on facial hair that came with the Santa suit onto Derek. "I have to make sure this beard is on straight." She huffed and yanked it off Derek's face when it didn't go on straight.

"Ouch!" Derek yelped.

"Baby," she hissed, nudging his legs apart so that she could stand between them. "Look up so I can see what I'm doing."

"You are the bossiest woman I've ever met," Derek said. He had thirty minutes until he needed to make his appearance as Santa. He moved his hands to her thighs and rubbed his palms up and down her legs. Man, she smelled good and she was so freaking close to him. "I thought when you told me that you'd be at my office at three, we'd have a sex date," he said. Meredith met his gaze for a moment and rolled her eyes. "I want sex," he muttered.

"I am not having sex with Santa," Meredith argued.

"Come on," Derek groaned. "Santa's horny and you standing between his legs is not helping matters."

Meredith looked down at Derek's crotch and giggled. Sure enough, he was pitching a tent. She gasped when she felt his hands move under her skirt slightly. "Bad Santa," she snapped, swatting his hand away.

Derek chuckled. "Correction, Dirty Santa." He moved his hand back to where it was.

"Derek!" Meredith exclaimed. "We can't have sex. You have to be downstairs at the party in twenty five minutes."

Derek grabbed her arms and pulled her onto his lap. She straddled him on the chair and moaned as his lips devoured her neck. "I can do a lot in twenty five minutes. We have plenty of time," he murmured between kisses. "You smell good."

Meredith squirmed. "You're fake beard scratches worse than your actual beard," she complained. "I think I'm getting carpet burn."

Derek groaned. "Mer," he pulled away from her neck for a moment. "Shut up and kiss me."

Meredith complied with his request, quickly ignoring the scratchy beard that covered his face when she felt his tongue slip into her mouth and explore her cavern. She moved her hands up his chest and cupped his face and beard, kissing him deeper. "Make it quick, Santa. Kids are waiting," she murmured against his lips. Her hands moved to the button of his jeans and she quickly pulled them down along with his boxers. She pumped his shaft vigorously, grinning as she watched his eyes roll back into his head. "Tell me you want me," she husked.

Derek's head fell back and thunked against his desk chair. "I…" he gasped as her thumb moved over the tip of his member, "Oh, God. I…fucking want you," he managed to say, reaching up under her skirt and pulling down her panties.

Meredith moved off of him for a second and discarded her skirt and blouse. She deftly unhooked her bra and threw it to the ground. Derek kicked his jeans off and eyed her naked form longingly. She looked at him and suddenly cracked up laughing. "Oh, my God, if you could see yourself right now all naked with the fake Santa beard."

"Ha, ha," Derek said dryly. "Come sit on Santa's lap," he taunted, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

Meredith crawled back on top of him and kissed him deeply. Derek moved his hands up the back of her thighs, around her hips and moved one in between her legs. She gasped as he slipped a finger inside of her slick channel and cried out when he added another finger. He groaned as her wetness drenched his hand. "You're so wet," he murmured.

Meredith pulled his hand away, moved over him and sunk down onto him. They both sighed, taking a moment to savor the feeling.

Meredith slowly began moving herself over him, the way she needed to in order to give them both the ultimate pleasure. He grasped her hips firmly and took over, thrusting up into her. He leaned up and attached his lips to her breast, rolling his tongue over her nipple and sucking. Meredith winced as the beard scratched the sensitive skin of her breast. "Derek, beard," she reminded him, making him look up at her. She grabbed the one side of the beard and yanked it off.

"Ouch!" he yelped. "Mer!"

"Sorry!" she exclaimed, turning around and putting it on his desk, sticky side up. "It freaking hurts! It's like a brillo pad." She kissed his lips over and over, moving towards his ear and sucking on his lobe. Derek's moves became frantic and she met every one of them, their bodies smacking together with every thrust. "You feel so good," she murmured breathlessly. "I love you." She trailed his lips from his neck, groaning loudly when her orgasm began to build.

"I love you, too," Derek breathed, moving his hands in between her legs and applying pressure to her nub. He could feel her walls start to squeeze him. "You're amazing," he whispered, pressing his lips to her chest.

"I'm close," she gasped, flanking his head with her hands. Her fingers intertwined in his hair. She leaned down to kiss him, their tongues dancing with one another.

Derek flicked her nub tirelessly, feeling himself come to his own peak as he felt her walls clamp tightly around him and listening to her constant moaning. He moved his hands to hold onto her hips as she began to tremble, her orgasm taking over her. He groaned as he came, spilling himself inside of her.

Meredith collapsed against him, wrapping her arms around him tightly. His arms moved around her waist as they caught their breath. He nuzzled the crook of her neck and kissed her shoulder. He glanced at the clock on the wall. "We have ten minutes to spare," he informed her. "Round two?"

Meredith giggled as she felt him grow hard again under her. She smiled coyly as she sunk onto him again. "Sure. Tis the season, right?"

*******

"And I want a puppy, a kitty and a pony," the little girl said as she sat on Derek…er…Santa's lap. Derek gave her a forced smile, his stomach churning as the snot oozed from her nose. Seriously, her parents worked in the hospital. You would think that they'd know enough to wipe her nose.

He looked at her mother who was standing beside them, grinning like an idiot. "Well, Holly.."

"My name is Molly," the little girl corrected him.

"Sorry," Derek chuckled. "Molly, let Santa see what he can do for you. Have a Merry Christmas." He patted the top of the little girl's head as she slipped off his lap and scurried back to her mother.

He waited for his next visitor. Overall, the Santa experience hadn't been so bad. The kids were kind of cute as they came up and spouted off what they wanted for Christmas.

"Hi, Santa," Jordan yelled, running up to Derek and jumping in his lap. Derek grunted on the impact. "Sorry I'm late. My Nana drives super slow."

Derek was extra cautious to disguise his voice. The last thing he needed was Jordan finding out he was Santa. It could be catastrophic for him. "That's okay, buddy," Derek gruffed. "I'm glad you made it. Have you been a good boy this year?" He caught Meredith's eye as she came to watch the interaction. He winked at her.

"Well," Jordan started. "There were a few…uh…problems, Santa."

"Do tell," Derek said. This should be good.

"Well, right after you came last year, even before we took down the Christmas tree, I was juggling with my mom's ornaments and I broke about five." He sighed. "My mom said they were old, they belonged to my Grandma Ellis. I told her I didn't know what happened to them, but I really did."

"I see," Derek nodded. "Anything else?"

"Yeah," Jordan paused. "When I was singing 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer' in the shower one day and you know the part where it says 'then one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say'?" Derek nodded. "Well, I sang that part and then I added 'in his underwear'. I felt bad about it right away because that was disrespectful towards you and I'm sorry."

Derek smiled. "That's okay, that's a funny part."

Jordan 's eyes grew wide. "You thought that was funny?" Derek nodded. Jordan shrugged. "Well, the last thing I did wasn't funny. I got into a food fight at school and had to go to the principal's office for it. I had my recess taken away for an entire week."

"Why did you get into a food fight?" Derek asked.

"Because Kaden told me that I would have to join girl scouts because I didn't have a dad to do the activities with me. He made me mad," Jordan explained. "But now I have a dad, well kind of. His name is Derek and he takes me fishing." Jordan looked at Meredith for a moment and leaned into Derek. "And he really likes my mom, I can tell. He gives her googly eyes and she gives him googly eyes."

"Really?" Derek smirked. He looked at Meredith, who was looking at the floor, turning a bright shade of red.

"Yeah, which brings me to my list," he said, pulling a piece of paper from his pocket. "I want a Nerf N-Strike long shot, little green army men, a Louisville Slugger baseball bat, new games for my Wii and Nintendo DS, and an air hockey table."

Derek looked at Meredith who was nodding softly. "Sounds good, Jordan . I will let my elves know." He patted Jordan's head. "Merry Christmas, buddy."

Jordan watched Meredith turn and walk away. "Okay, Santa," Jordan whispered. "And now for the gift I really, really want."

"Okay," Derek said, looking at him curiously.

"Remember Derek, the guy who makes googly eyes at my mom?" Derek nodded. "Well, I wished for this when I blew out my candles at my birthday last month and I know if I tell you, you'll make it happen. I want Derek to be my dad." Derek raised his eyebrows. Did Jordan just sit in his lap and say that?

"You want Derek to be your dad?" Derek asked slowly.

Jordan nodded. "He's the bestest friend I've ever had and he does fun stuff with me and he doesn't mind my mom's snoring." Jordan explained. "I'd have a dad just like all my friends, only my dad would be a hundred times better because he'd be Derek. Wouldn't that be awesome?" Jordan was interrupted by the sound of Meredith calling him. "Gotta go, Santa!" He slid from his lap. "Merry Christmas!"

****

Derek had wondered what to get Meredith for Christmas. She wasn't one of those women who swooned over jewelry, and she didn't cook, so appliances were out of the question. Derek had no ideas on what to get her. That was, until Jordan sat on his lap and confessed to Santa that he wanted him to be his dad. It was then that Derek knew what Meredith's Christmas gift would be - for her and Jordan, from him.

He sat nervously while Jordan tore through his gifts, excitement evident on his face. He loved everything he opened, including those he had seen before they were wrapped. He looked over at Meredith, who was watching Jordan with a smile on her face. She looked over at him and caught his gaze. They stared at each other for a moment.

"Look, Derek, a football!" Jordan yelled, tossing the soft Nerf football at him and smacking him right on the head. Derek turned to look at him and Jordan started howling.

"Are you okay?" Meredith asked, scooting closer to him to touch where the football had hit him.

Derek jumped at her touch and she pulled her hand away, giving him a curious look. "Fine, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be fine?" he said quickly. Meredith continued to stare at him. He was acting weird.

Jordan had finished opening up his gifts and Meredith told him to go and check out his stocking. Along the way, he came across a long, tube-like gift that was wrapped with a bow on the top. "To Meredith and Jordan," he read. "From Derek." Jordan grabbed the gift and quickly came over to the couch. "Here, mom, this is for you and me from Derek." He handed the gift to Meredith, who quickly tore open the paper. Derek sat nervously, waiting for her reaction.

She ripped off the paper and opened up the top of the plastic tube. "What is this?" she asked.

"Open it," Derek said nervously.

Jordan was hopping up and down at this point. "Open it, mom!"

Meredith pulled out the paperwork that was inside the tube. It was too big to spread out on her lap, so she scooted forward to the coffee table and opened it up.

"Cool," Jordan exclaimed. "It's a map! Is there buried treasure somewhere?"

Derek chuckled and Meredith looked at Derek with wide eyes. "Jordan, it's not a map," Meredith said.

"What is it, then?" Jordan asked.

"They're blue prints," Derek answered. "To our new house."

"Our new house?" Meredith squeaked. "Meaning us?"

Derek smiled, "Yes, our house. Yours, mine and Jordan's." He looked at the blue prints. "It's a classic Victorian design with an open floor plan." He glanced up at Meredith who was studying the design intently. He pointed to a part of the paper. "This is your room, Jordan. See? From your bedroom window, you will have a view of Seattle."

"Wow! I have a window!" Jordan exclaimed. "Where is this house?"

"It's not built yet," Meredith said softly, her eyes never leaving the paper.

"You know the clearing right beside the trailer?" Derek asked Jordan. Jordan nodded. "That's where we'll build this house."

"Neat!" Jordan cried. "It's neat, huh, mom?"

"It is," Meredith agreed, looking at the layout. The house looked amazing with five bedrooms, four bathrooms, and walk in closets in every room. There was a den, kitchen and family room, not to mention the wraparound porch. She looked at Derek. "You had these plans drawn up?" Derek nodded, studying her overwhelmed expression. He cleared his throat, turning to Jordan. "Hey, why don't you take your new video games upstairs and I'll be up to play with you in a little while."

Jordan's eyes lit up. "Okay!" he cheered, grabbing the pile and hurrying out of the room and up the stairs.

Derek turned back to Meredith, who had stood up and began gathering the shreds of wrapping paper. He stood up and helped her. "You don't like them," he guessed. He watched as Meredith stopped what she was doing and twisted the paper in her hands. "Say something," he said softly.

"I love you," she said. "I do. I love you so much that it scares me. This…this," she motioned towards the blue prints, "seems all too good to be true. And it's fast."

Derek nodded, "It is fast," he said. "I'm sorry to freak you out. I just want this…I want us."

"I'm not freaked out," she protested. "I'm…I'm…" She paused, trying to find the right words. "We've been together for almost four months, Derek. Four months. That's a short amount of time for you to be drawing up house plans. Its…it's wonderful and I love it, but don't you think it's too soon?"

"No," Derek said, simply. "I know what I want."

Meredith hid her smile. She knew what he wanted, she just wanted him to say it. "So, what do you want?"

He looked into her eyes for a moment. "I want to marry you. I want more kids with you. I want to adopt Jordan as my own. I want to build us a house," he motioned towards the plans on the coffee table. "I want to die when I'm one hundred and ten year old in your arms. I want a lifetime with you."

"Really?" she grinned.

"Really," he confirmed, moving closer to her and wrapping his arms around her. "I love you, Meredith Grey, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Meredith took a deep breath and smiled up at him. "And I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

**I hope everyone has a fabulous holiday! Merry Christmas!**


	18. Tater Tots

**Part one of two. I hope everyone had a great holiday! Enjoy the update!**

**Chapter Seventeen: Tater Tots **

"Hello?" Jordan asked into Derek's phone.

"Why, hello there!" a woman's voice said from the other end. "Whom am I speaking to?"

"This is Jordan Grey," Jordan replied. "Who are you?"

"I am Carolyn," the woman replied. "I've heard a lot about you, Jordan. Tell me, how was your Christmas?"

"Oh it was great!" Jordan exclaimed, propping his feet up on his mother's desk in her home office. "Santa brought me everything I asked for," he gloated. "Wanna know what my most favorite thing was that I got?"

"What, dear?" Carolyn asked. Derek had said that Jordan had the ability to talk a person's ear off. She found herself immediately fond of him just by talking to him on the phone.

Jordan lowered his voice so that his mom and Derek didn't hear. "I asked Santa to make Derek my dad and I think it might happen soon. I mean, I think that he might get married to my mom."

Carolyn's eyebrows arched. "Really? How do you know that?"

"Well," Jordan said. "They make googly eyes at one another. He sleeps over almost every night and they are always hugging and kissing when they think I'm not looking. It's like this," Jordan paused and made kissing noises into the phone. "Derek, I love you," he said in a high pitched voice followed by more kissing sounds. "Meredith, I love you, too," he said in a deeper voice, adding more kissing sounds at the end. "Gross!" he exclaimed.'

Carolyn chuckled. "That does sound gross!" she agreed. "Is Derek there?"

"Yeah," Jordan replied. "He's in the kitchen trying to teach my mom how to cook. She's a really, really, really bad cook. Derek says he didn't think there was hope for her and he told me not to tell anyone. Oh!" Jordan exclaimed. "I just told you!"

Carolyn smiled into the phone. "I won't say a word. If he's busy with your mom, then I'd better not disturb him. Can you give him a message for me?"

"Yup," Jordan said. "I'm nine now, I'm more responsible."

"Good," Carolyn laughed. "Tell Derek that my plane will arrive tomorrow morning and I will be staying at the Archfield. Do you think you can give him that message?"

"Piece of cake," Jordan said. "Consider it done." After saying their good-byes, Jordan left the office and headed towards the kitchen, making a bee line for Derek. He then realized that he had left his green army guys in a war upstairs. That situation needed immediate attention. He would just give Derek the message later.

****

"Why couldn't Derek take me to school today? He turns the music up really loud and we jam out," Jordan whined from the back seat.

Meredith looked at him from the rearview mirror. "He had an early surgery this morning, or else he would have. He was upset about not dropping you off," she told him.

Jordan smile suddenly dropped. He had forgotten to give Derek the message. "Crap!"

"What?" Meredith frowned.

"Can you give Derek a message for me?" Jordan asked.

"Sure," Meredith replied.

"Tell him that yesterday a woman called him and said that she would arrive tomorrow morning, which would be today. She is staying at the Golden Arches." Jordan said; proud of himself at remembering the message.

"A woman?" Meredith asked, turning to look at him. "What woman?" She felt her stomach drop.

"Uh," Jordan thought for a moment. "I don't remember her name, but she sounded nice. She called Derek's phone and I was in your office, so I answered it."

"What were you doing in my office?" Meredith demanded. "You know you're not supposed to be in there."

"I was looking for string to make parachutes for my army guys. They were in a war, you know," he argued.

"Just…don't go in there, okay?" Meredith asked. She didn't want to yell at him before she dropped him off for school, and he knew that he shouldn't be her office, but this whole woman calling Derek thing was getting to her. She knew she was jumping to conclusions, but it still bugged.

Meredith sighed as she pulled up to the front of the school. "Derek is having dinner with us tonight, so you'll see him then. Make sure you bring home all of your homework after school this time. I don't want you missing any more recess because you forgot it."

"Okay, mom! Bye!" Jordan hopped out of the car and slammed the door. She watched as he walked with a group of boys into the school. She needed to lay her worries to rest and the only way that would happen is to talk to Derek.

*****

If there was one thing that Meredith was good at besides operating, it was eating. Stress eating that is. She had mentally prepared herself to barge into Derek's office and confront him about the mystery woman, but he hadn't been there. Apparently, according to the nurses, his morning surgery was taking longer than expected and she had some time to kill. She needed tater tots and she needed them now.

She frowned as she moved through the line and saw that there was none out for grabs. She particularly didn't like to bother the cafeteria workers because they were always busy and mean looking, but she wanted…no, she needed her tater tots, yesterday. "Excuse me," she said to a short, blue haired woman in a hair net.

The woman looked up at her impatiently. "What?" she huffed.

Meredith blinked. "Will there be any tater tots coming out soon?" she asked quickly.

"No," the lady grumbled. "They were a discontinued item. Eat the French fries." She pointed to a few bowls filled with shriveled up potatoes.

Meredith shook her head. "No, they are not the same. Are you sure you don't have any tater tots back there?"

The cafeteria lady slammed her hand down impatiently on the counter, causing Meredith to jump. "Do you not speak English?" she demanded. "I told you they were discontinued. We got French fries and that's it! You're holding up the line!"

Meredith quickly grabbed a bowl of French fries. "Crabby much?" she muttered under her breath, catching the lady's eye and smiling widely at her. She stopped at the register and paid the cashier for her food.

She looked across the cafeteria and noticed a gray haired woman pouring herself some coffee. Meredith was sure she was one of the cafeteria ladies and hated approaching her on break, but she was having a bad day and needed to bitch to someone. Meredith straightened her back and walked over to her. "Excuse me," she said, getting the lady's attention.

The cafeteria worker turned around and flashed a wide smile. "Yes? Hello."

"Hi," Meredith replied. "I am sorry to interrupt your break, but I wanted to know why the tater tots were discontinued."

The lady frowned. "I'm sorry?"

Meredith closed her eyes for a moment. She really hated telling people about her personal life, but at this moment in time, she really didn't care. "I love tater tots," Meredith confessed. "The reason why I went to school was not because of the boys, it was because of the tater tots in the school cafeteria. They weren't just any tater tots, they were crunchy. Lots of times, they are soggy, but they were crunchy, which was why I loved them. The day I graduated from high school, I didn't care that I wouldn't see my friends again, I was upset that I wouldn't get to eat my tater tots anymore. That was, until I started working here. The tater tots here are like the ones I had in the school cafeteria. That made me extremely happy. I loved those tater tots and now they are gone. Gone!" Meredith burst into tears. She could feel the woman put her hand sympathetically on her arm as she sobbed. Meredith didn't mean to dump everything on this woman, but bad days can do that to people.

"There, there," the woman said soothingly, offering Meredith a tissue. She glanced at the name stitched on her lab coat. "Meredith," she read. "Can I call you Meredith?"

Meredith nodded as she dabbed at her eyes with the tissue. "I'm sorry," Meredith sniffed, wiping her eyes and blowing her nose. "I don't mean to dump my life on you. You're a complete stranger. It's…I've…"

"Bad day?" the woman asked. Meredith nodded. "I'm sorry to hear that, Meredith."

Meredith sniffed. "It's just…some stupid dumb woman is calling my boyfriend and asking him to meet her at the Golden Arches. I mean, what kind of a woman asks a man to meet her at McDonalds?"

"I have no idea," the lady shrugged, trying to hide her smile. Her son's girlfriend was spilling her guts to her, thinking that she was a cafeteria worker.

"I'll tell you what kind of a woman it is. A low rent one," Meredith grumbled. "I mean, he gets all the sex he wants….great sex, I might add…at home for free. He may be a brain surgeon, but man is he stupid at times. You know, once he's out of surgery, I am giving him a piece of my mind. Yeah, that's what I'll do." Meredith slammed her tray on the table. She turned to face the lady, who was looking at her with an amused expression. "I'm sorry, I have to go. Thank you so much for listening."

The woman nodded. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Meredith. I hope your day gets better."

***

This was the worst day of her life. Okay, maybe she was exaggerating a tad, but holy hell. Meredith thought that the discontinued tater tots was traumatic, that was until she was assigned the world's most incompetent interns who didn't know their asses from their esophagus's. If she had the time, she'd be on the phone with each and every one of the medical schools responsible for allowing them to graduate with a medical degree.

Her patience was definitely wearing thin.

"I'll ask one more time," she said slowly. "What are the common causes of a post op fever?" Some schmuck by the name of Steve Mostow raised his hand. "Go," Meredith nodded.

"Wind, Water, Walking…." He paused for a moment, eyeing Meredith nervously. "Weight?"

"No!" Meredith snapped. She glared at each and every one of them. "And you call yourselves doctors? The five W's; water, wind, walking, wound, and wonder drugs! How you all graduated from medical school is beyond me!" All of the interns hung their heads in shame. "Apparently, we need to go back to the basics. All of you go and find Dr. Bailey in the clinic. Move it!" She huffed as they shuffled away, mumbling things to each other softly. Meredith sighed in exasperation, leaning against the counter and burying her face in her arms.

"You okay," she heard Derek whisper in her ear as he placed his hand on her hip. She stood up quickly and narrowed her eyes at him. "What?" he asked, frowning at the looks she was giving him.

"How was your morning?" she asked in a sweet voice, still glaring at him.

Derek looked around, he was sure that this was a trick question. It was making him slightly uncomfortable. "Fine," he answered cautiously. "Surgery went longer than expected."

"Oh, surgery," Meredith said, nodding her head. "Right." She examined her nails as she grinded her teeth together.

Derek grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the stairwell. He had a feeling she was going to explode and didn't want the hospital staff to witness it. They would be the talk of the hospital for weeks if that happened. "Meredith, what is the problem?" he asked, once they were alone.

Meredith put her brave face on and put her hands on her hips. "You tell me, Derek Shepherd. Who is the woman that has been calling you and why are you meeting her at McDonalds?" She bit her lip to keep from crying.

"What?" Derek frowned. "I'm not meeting anyone at McDonalds. Who told you that?"

"Jordan," she whispered, tears filling her eyes and streaming down her cheeks. "The woman called yesterday and asked him to give you a message. He forgot and told me to tell you this morning when I dropped him off at school." She sniffed and wiped her eyes. At this point today, she could be the spokesperson for Kleenex tissues with the amount of waterworks she was producing. What? The bastard was smiling? Oh, hell no! "What's so freaking funny, Derek?"

"Oh, Meredith," he chuckled. "My mom called yesterday. She's coming to Seattle today," he looked at his watch. "If she's not here already. That's who called yesterday. She told me she spoke with Jordan."

Her face flashed idiot and she was sure her cheeks were bright red. "What?" she squeaked. "Your mom is coming to Seattle? Today?"

Derek nodded. "She's coming to meet the people responsible for me skipping out on them for Christmas." Meredith gave him a mortified look. Derek shook his head. "Mer, she's not coming to yell at you, she's coming to meet you because, well, I'm serious about you…about us."

Meredith could feel herself becoming all warm and gooey at his words. How did he do that to her? "Well, I feel dumb now," she confessed. "I thought you were meeting someone."

"That was dumb," Derek agreed. "There will never be another woman, ever. You're it for me, Meredith. Besides, when would I have time to be meeting other women? You're a handful enough as it is." He leaned into her and kissed her soundly on the lips. He pulled her into a tight hug. "I love you," he whispered in her ear.

Meredith melted into him and tears stung her eyes. "I love you, too. Hey! I can cook for all of us!"

Derek winced at the idea. "Mer," he said gently. "Baby steps. We'll get take out."

Meredith frowned, pulling out of his embrace to look at him. "Are you saying that I can't cook?"

"Yes," Derek nodded. "But I still love you."

**Part two coming soonish **


	19. Special Request

**Part two of two. Sorry this took so long. Hopefully I can relax a little now that the holidays are over…Oh, who am I kidding? I have three kids.**

**Chapter Eighteen: Special Request**

"Are you in the north terminal?" Derek frowned into his phone. "Because that's where she is supposed to be." Derek was getting worried. His mother's flight should have arrived two hours ago. He had hired a driver to meet her at the airport and bring her to the hospital. So far, he hadn't seen her. "No, just stay there, I…" He stopped talking when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to the smiling face of his mother. "Never mind, I found her," he said, hanging up his phone. "There's a town car waiting for you at the airport," he teased her, the anxiety of the thought of her being lost quickly diminishing.

"I didn't need a fancy car, I just hopped on the bus," Carolyn said.

"So, you've already started waves in Seattle, Ma," Derek grinned. "I hear you talked to Jordan."

"I did," Carolyn nodded. "Did he give you my message?"

Derek chuckled. "In a round about way," he said, grabbing his mother's carry on and heading in the direction of his office. "He forgot and told Meredith who thought I was meeting a woman at McDonalds."

"A low rent one," Carolyn smiled to herself.

"A what?" Derek frowned, reaching into his pocket for his office keys.

"Nothing," Carolyn explained, with a dismissal wave of her hand. She followed him into her office.

"I can't wait for you to meet her and Jordan," Derek said, turning to look at her.

"I can't wait to meet Jordan," Carolyn agreed, "But Meredith and I have already met."

"What?" Derek's eyes got wide. "Meredith never said anything about meeting you."

"That's because she didn't know it was me," Carolyn replied. "I was in the cafeteria earlier when one of the nurses told me you were in surgery. Meredith mistook me for someone who worked there. It was actually quite comical."

Derek shook his head. His mother looked nothing like a cafeteria worker and didn't know how Meredith could have made that mistake. However, at their initial meeting, he looked nothing like a maintenance man. He chuckled to himself. His girl definitely had a way of embarrassing herself. "Sorry about that, Ma," he apologized.

Carolyn smiled. "There's nothing to be sorry about. It was an honest mistake. I can tell that she definitely cares about you."

"I really care about her," Derek agreed. "Let me check on a few of my patients quickly and then we will go and meet Meredith and Jordan for dinner." He looked at his watch. "Do you need anything? Coffee? Something to eat?"

Carolyn shook her head. "I'm fine. I will need to stop at a grocery store before going home."

Derek frowned. "For what? Ma, we have enough food."

"I just need tater tots, the crunchy ones," Carolyn explained. "It's a special request."

***

"It's about time you get here," Jordan said, meeting Derek and Carolyn at the door. "Mom's gone mental."

"What do you mean, 'Mom's gone mental'?" Derek asked, walking into the foyer.

"She has issues," Jordan replied. "Ever since she picked me up at school today she's made me work. I had to put my laundry away, clean my room and make my bed," he whined. He pointed towards the kitchen. "Now, she's running around this house like she's crazy, and she's talking to herself."

Derek looked around the house. "Where is she now?"

"Cleaning the toilets," Jordan said. "Who are you?" he asked Carolyn.

"I'm Carolyn. We talked on the phone, remember? I'm Derek's mom," Carolyn explained.

Jordan held out his hand. "Nice to meet you," he said. "You're son is very nice. You raised him well." He looked at Derek and wiggled his eyebrows.

Carolyn snickered as she shook his hand. "Why, thank you, Jordan. My, you are a very handsome young man."

Jordan shrugged. "I know," he said. "I've been handsome my whole life."

"I'm sure," Carolyn agreed.

"No, really," Jordan nodded with big eyes. "My Aunt Cris says I was the cutest baby in the world. Come on!" He grabbed Carolyn's hand. "Let's go look at my baby albums!"

Carolyn handed Derek the grocery bag she was carrying and winked at him before she was pulled into the living room. Derek smiled as he watched Jordan take his mother into the other room. It was obvious that his mother was taken with him just by the way she spoke to him.

Derek sighed and went on his search for Meredith. He was sure she was bouncing off the walls right now. He knew that she put up a good front and didn't show her nervousness about meeting his mother, but deep down, she was freaking out.

"Crap! You're here!" came Meredith's voice from the top of the stairs. Derek smiled up at her as he walked up the stairs. "Is she here?" she asked in a much lower voice when he reached the top of the stairs.

Derek nodded. "Jordan needed to prove to her that he has been handsome his entire life. He's showing her his baby album." He leaned in to kiss her. "You okay?"

"Just peachy, Derek," she snapped. She poked her finger into his chest. "You are like the worst boyfriend ever! You could have given me more notice that your mother was coming!" She spied the grocery bag that he was carrying. "What did you get me? Tequila, I hope."

Derek laughed and shook his head. "No, not tequila." he peered into the bag. "Mom said that she had a special request for crunchy tater tots."

"Tater tots?" Meredith frowned. Why would his mother buy tater tots? Jordan didn't like them and she was sure that her health nut boyfriend wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole. How did Derek's mother know that she liked crunchy tater tots? She gasped as the realization hit her. "Derek," she groaned. "I am going to ask you a question and I'm hoping to hell and back that your answer is no."

Derek winced, knowing what the question was going to be. "I'll try my best," he said. Meredith inhaled deeply and exhaled. "Was your mother in the hospital cafeteria today?" Her eyes scanned his face, searching for his answer.

Derek gave her a sympathetic look and nodded slowly. "Yes," he said softly. "I'm sorry."

"Crap!" she exclaimed, smacking her forehead with the palm of her hand. "I had a freaking meltdown in front of your mother about tater tots, Derek! I thought she worked in the cafeteria! She's going to think I'm a flake!"

"No, Mer," Derek said, trying to comfort her. "She thought it was funny. She doesn't think you're a flake."

"Like hell, Derek! My love for tater tots were not the only thing I confessed."

"What else did you tell her?" Derek asked. His mother hadn't mentioned anything else about their conversation.

Meredith bit her lip. "I told her we had great sex," she said quickly.

Derek nodded. "Well, we do," he agreed.

Meredith rolled her eyes. He was such a man. "I can't go down there and face her, Derek. I've humiliated myself again. What the hell is wrong with me? I think I need medicated."

Derek laughed, pulling her into his arms. "You do not need medicated, Meredith. Trust me, you did not offend my mother in any way. She wants to get to know you better." He held her for a moment, waiting for her to calm down. "It's going to be fine," he murmured in her ear.

"Just, do me a favor, okay?" Meredith asked.

"Anything," Derek replied, kissing the top of her head.

"If any more of your family member's decide to visit, let me know in advance and at least let me see a picture of them before I make a complete idiot of myself again. I'd hate to mistake one of your sisters for a dog catcher or something."

***

"The chicken looks lovely," Carolyn commented as Meredith let the platter in the middle of the table.

"It's from the store," Jordan replied, beaming at his mother, "And so are the green beans."

Carolyn and Derek exchanged smiles. Meredith sighed as she sunk into her chair. She made a mental note to ground Jordan until he was ten once Derek's mother left.

"It's nicely presented," Derek announced, rubbing Meredith's shoulder affectionately.

"It is," Carolyn agreed.

"We own the plates," Jordan continued. "Mom didn't get those at the store today."

"Jordan," Meredith groaned. "Eat your dinner."

Jordan obeyed his mother and became quiet as he began eating. Meredith quickly regretted it because it seemed that Jordan's continuous chatter had filled the silence. She felt Derek's hand move to her thigh and squeeze it lightly.

"Derek tells me that you grew up right here in Seattle," Carolyn said to Meredith. Meredith nodded. "And your parents?"

"My father and step mother live about ten minutes away and my mother passed away shortly after Jordan was born," Meredith replied quickly.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Carolyn said. She looked at Derek. "So, you've settled in your job here, Derek?"

"Yes, Ma," Derek replied, taking a sip of his water. He looked at Meredith and smiled. "Best decision I've made." Meredith returned the smile.

Carolyn nodded. "Good, and when will you be taking over as chief?"

Wait, what? Chief? What was Derek's mother talking about? "Chief?" Meredith said out loud.

"I'm not sure, Ma," Derek said, not noticing Meredith's taken aback demeanor. "He told me that it would be in the next year or so when I moved out here. I'll still have to go through the interviews like everyone else, though."

Meredith stared at her plate, not saying anything as Derek and his mother chatted with Jordan about school, cub scouts and baseball coming up soon. Why hadn't Derek told her that Richard had offered chief to him when he moved out here? Was it already a done deal? What about her or Cristina or all of the other attending that worked just as hard as Derek? She and Cristina had discussed the potential of going head to head for chief eventually when Richard retired. Their decision was to let the best man win, but Meredith had secretly known she was the best man.

"Mer? Is that okay with you?" Derek asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"What?" she asked.

"I said Ma wants to go and see the Space Needle. Did you want to go?"

"Uh, no…no. I have to help Jordan with his homework and get him ready for bed." She forced a smile. "You two have fun."

***

"Seattle is a beautiful city," Carolyn observed from the bench that she and Derek were sitting on, overlooking the city from the top of the Space Needle. "You belong here with Meredith and Jordan."

Derek nodded. "I do," he said. He felt warm in side knowing that his mother approved of Meredith. Definitely a good thing considering she hated Addison, his ex wife. Derek exhaled and crossed his leg.

"Your father always wanted you to have this for the right girl," Carolyn said. Derek turned to see that she was handing him her engagement ring from her finger. "Addison wasn't right, clearly."

Derek took the ring from her and looked at it for a moment. He turned to her, slightly shocked. "You've spent less than two hours with Meredith. You barely even know her."

" I know enough," Carolyn argued. "I know that when she talked about you earlier today, although she thought you were meeting a mistress at McDonalds, the way her eyes lit up when she talked about you. As a matter of fact, it's the same way you're eyes are lighting up now thinking about her. I've never seen you this happy, Derek." Derek nodded at his mother's words. "And Jordan? He adores you in the way a son adores his father. He needs you. You need them."

"They're my life," he said, wiping his tears that pooled in his eyes away quickly. He looked out at the city. Carolyn smiled at him and laid her head on his shoulder. "They're all that matter to me," Derek said softly.

**Sigh….let the drama start. Remember, it's just drama. Sit back and enjoy the story :)  
**


	20. Control Freak

**Well, things have calmed down around here (as much as things can in my house) and I'm finally able to sit back and focus on writing. Sorry for the delay...My favorite aunt passed away unexpectedly and it hit me very hard. But, she's in a better place now. Enjoy ;)**

**Chapter Nineteen: Control Freak**

"Jordan," Meredith said as she walked into his bedroom. "Do me a favor and put up both toilet seats when you use the bathroom." She stood in the middle of his bedroom with her hands on her hips.

Jordan looked up at her from the book that he was reading with an annoyed expression on his face. "I did," he argued.

"No, you didn't," Meredith shook her head. "Because if you did, I wouldn't have a wet as…er…behind when I use it after you."

"You almost said a swear," Jordan pointed out. "I am disappointed in you, Mom."

Meredith rolled her eyes. She just couldn't win with him. "Just, put up both toilet seats when you go next time, Jordan, that's all I'm asking, Okay? It's time for bed, lights out."

Jordan groaned and tossed his book aside. Meredith held up the covers so he could scoot under. She tucked the blanket around him and smiled when she noticed him staring at her curiously. "What?" she asked.

"Did my born dad love me?" Jordan asked.

Meredith was taken aback. Jordan rarely asked about his father and when he did, it was either around the holidays or his birthday. Since Derek had come into his life, Jordan hadn't asked about him at all. "He…loves you, Jordan. He just knew that you needed more of a dad than what he could give you." She hoped that was right because it sounded right in her head. "Where did that question come from?"

Jordan shrugged. "I was thinking. If my born dad loves me, then I don't want to hurt his feelings when I ask Derek if I can call him dad. That would hurt his feelings, right?"

Meredith perched at the edge of Jordan's bed. She struggled to find the appropriate words. "Have you already asked Derek if you can call him that?" she asked softly.

Jordan shook his head. "No, I asked Carolyn."

"What did she say?" Meredith asked, curious to hear his answer.

"Well, she told me that Derek loves me like I was his own kid, but I already knew that because Derek told me," Jordan said.

"When did Derek tell you that?" Meredith asked.

"On the way home from cub scouts one day. We were talking about how I love Megan different that how I love you and how he loves you different that how he loves me."

"Really," Meredith smiled. "Tell me the difference."

"Well, I love Megan like I wanna kiss her and I love you 'cause you take care of me and you're my mom 'cause I came out of there." He pointed to Meredith's stomach and then covered his mouth with his hand, hiding his giggle.

"What's so funny?" Meredith asked.

"Derek said he loves you like crazy," Jordan informed her. "He told me that. Then he said he loved me like I was his kid." He beamed at Meredith.

"How does that make you feel?" Meredith asked, smiling back at him.

"Super great," Jordan replied. "I love Derek like he's my dad so that's why I wanna call him dad. Carolyn said that she thought he'd like that a lot."

Meredith leaned in to kiss his forehead. "I think that is a conversation that needs to happen between you and Derek." She tucked his blankets up under his chin. "And I'm pretty sure that you wouldn't hurt your born dad's feelings if you do call Derek dad."

***

Derek quietly walked into the house after dropping his mother off at the airport. He reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out the ring his mother had given him earlier. He smiled to himself knowing that his father had given the same ring to his mother years ago and had asked her to be his wife. He could have gone to a store and spend hoards of money on a ring for Meredith, but no ring would ever hold the significance that the ring in his hand had.

Derek noticed that the house was quiet and most of the lights, minus the one in the hall for when he arrived home, had been turned off. Jordan had gone to bed a few hours ago and he wanted to spend time with Meredith. He tucked the ring into the pocket of his jeans for now. He planned to stop by the jewelers the next day to get it cleaned and put in a more modern setting. He couldn't wait to give it to her and needed to think of the perfect way to propose.

Derek finished locking up and went upstairs. He checked on Jordan, who was sound asleep in his bed. He tucked his blankets around him, kissed his forehead and quietly left his room in search for Meredith. He needed to see her, to smell her and touch her. He hoped that she hadn't gone to bed yet.

He smiled to himself as he walked into the bedroom and heard the shower running. He pushed open the bathroom door softly and watched her naked form through the shower door. She was breathtaking. He quickly took the ring from his pocket and tucked it into the side pocket of his briefcase.

He slipped into the bathroom, stripped his clothing, and stepped into the shower with her. Her back was turned to him as he wrapped his arms around her. "Room in here for me?" he murmured in her ear.

Meredith jumped, turning around quickly to his lips crashing against hers. His lips were persistent as he devoured hers, sliding his tongue into her mouth and exploring her cavern. She hummed as his hands moved up the curves of her body and flanked her skull so that he could kiss her deeper. Derek backed her up against the cold tile of the shower as he kissed her deeply.

She could seriously have gotten lost in his kisses and she fought like hell not to. But, he was just so…and she was…wait…she was mad at him. She was so freaking mad… "Oh, God," she moaned as his hand moved between her legs, stroking her just the way she liked.

"You're beautiful," he murmured in her ear, sucking on her ear lobe as his magical fingers quickly moved her to her peak. "I missed you," he whispered.

Meredith groaned her response as she felt her orgasm wash over. How dare he walk in and take over her body like he owned it. Just like he walked into Seattle Grace thinking that he'd be chief when Richard retired. No, he wasn't in control of this and the minute her orgasm was over, she'd make sure he knew it. "The way you come for me, God, it's hot," he husked, watching her come down from her orgasmic state. He pressed kisses along her neck, rubbing his hands up and down her thigh, prodding her to lift her leg so he could position her against the wall.

Oh, no, he wasn't taking charge. Meredith slapped his hand away and pushed him back so that he was pinned against the wall. She bit back a laugh at the surprised expression on his face at her sudden take charge movements. "We're doing this my way," she growled. "I am in charge tonight."

Derek grinned at her with hooded eyes. "Promise?" he asked as she grabbed a fist of his hair, pulling hard so that she had better access to his neck. "Ow, Mer," he whined.

"Shut it!" she snapped, licking up the side of his neck and sinking her teeth into his flesh. She heard him growl his pleasure as she continued nipping and sucking his skin. She reached between them and fisted his hard shaft, pumping vigorously and grinning at him in satisfaction as she saw his eyes roll back in his head. "Who's in charge, Derek?"

"You…"he muttered, swallowing hard as her hand moved over him. "You're in charge, forever," he managed to say. "You own me."

"You're damn right I do," she growled in his ear. "I want it rough and hard. Make me scream." She backed up against the wall again as he came towards her, lifting her in one swift motion and lowering her onto him. Derek moaned as her walls adjusted to his size and he pumped into her furiously as he slammed her down onto him over and over again with each thrust.

Derek worked tirelessly at getting her to her peak. He was surprised at her sudden demanding nature, but quite honestly, he could get used to it. Jesus, it was hot. What was hotter was the way she was yelling his name as she came for him, for the second time in five minutes. Derek groaned loudly as he felt her walls clamp down around him, milking him. He exploded inside of her as she wrapped her arms around his neck, panting breathlessly as she came down from her high.

"What was that?" he whispered in her ear. "I could get used to Sergeant Meredith." He chuckled as he placed her back down on her feet. His smile faded when she glared back at him.

"You haven't seen anything yet," she warned. "Bed, now." Derek quickly shut off the water and got out of the shower, grabbing a towel for both of them. This was going to be a long night.

***

Derek pulled the ring out of his lab coat, glancing at it quickly before he rounded on his patients. He planned on dropping it off at the jewelers over his lunch break later.

"What is that?" Mark asked, walking up beside Derek and glancing at the ring.

"It's what you think it is," Derek said, quickly shoving it back in his pocket.

"You're going to propose to Grey?" Mark asked. "Already?"

Derek shrugged. "She's it for me. We may be moving faster than most relationships, but I've never been surer about anything in my life."

"Nice," Mark said. "How are you going to do it?"

"I have no idea," Derek replied. "Meredith is not a flowers and candy kind of girl. I want it to mean something to her. It has to be perfect."

"We need to celebrate," Mark announced. "Let me buy you a drink after work tonight at Joe's?"

"Sounds like a plan," Derek agreed.

***

Meredith walked (Ok, shuffled) to her office. Her body ached from head to toe after last night's activities with Derek. They had literally had sex all night and Derek had willingly complied with each and every one of her demands. Man, the man had stamina.

"You look like you've been hit by a truck," Cristina said, coming up behind her. "What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you walking like that?"

"Too much sex," Meredith said through gritted teeth.

"TMI, Meredith, really," Cristina groaned, covering her hand over her eyes.

"You asked," Meredith replied, sitting down gingerly in her office chair.

"What was the celebration?" Cristina asked, plopping down in the chair facing her desk.

"No celebration," Meredith shrugged. "Just sex."

Cristina raised her eyebrows, "Bitch, please. I know you better than you know yourself. Why the marathon sexcapade? I take it the dinner with the future mother in law slash cafeteria worker went well."

"It was fine," Meredith said. "She and Jordan got along great. She's a very nice woman and she's not my future mother in law."

Cristina frowned. "Why not? Aren't you and Mr. Fix It headed to the chapel soonish?"

"No," Meredith said flatly. "I mean, that was what I thought until I found out what I did last night."

"Before or after the sex?"

"Before, we were all at the dinner table and then Derek's mother asks him when he's getting chief. And what does Derek do? He says he didn't know and he would probably have to jump through the hoops like very other attending in this hospital." Meredith sighed.

"Yeah," Cristina prodded. "It's called interviewing for the position."

"You're missing my point," Meredith said. "Apparently, when Richard called Derek to come to Seattle, he promised Derek chief. Derek never said one word to me about it, not one."

"Wait," Cristina said. "Richard promised Derek chief? Seriously?"

"Seriously," Meredith replied, her eyes watering. "Apparently, I don't mean as much to him as I thought I did. I'm…I'm a distraction for him right now. I'm keeping him occupied until Richard retires. I knew this was too good to be true!" Meredith burst into tears.

Cristina rolled her eyes. Now she knew where Jordan inherited his dramatic streak. "Meredith," Cristina groaned. "Get a grip. Derek fucking worships the ground you walk on. Didn't you just have a sex marathon?"

Meredith nodded, reaching for a tissue. "It was a take charge thing. I don't know what came over me, but I was demanding and mean and he loved it. He had my legs bent ways I didn't know they could go."

"Shut up!" Cristina yelled. "Look, I have a surgery. Meet me for a drink later at Joe's. You can cry the blues to Jose." She got up and headed for the door. "Although," she said, turning around. "I don't know why you're so upset over this anyway."

"Why?" Meredith sniffed, blotting her eyes with the tissue and looking up at her.

"Because you and I both know that when Richard retires, I'll be chief," Cristina smirked at her and quickly left the room before Meredith could reply.

**Comments would be greatly appreciated :)**


	21. Food Poisoning

**Hellooooo! I'm updating again for a number of reasons. First of all, I felt that I owed everyone this after going postal for the past few weeks. You guys rock and deserve two updates in 24 hours. Also, I need to get this story wrapped up so that I can focus on my Guttercrackwhore production with Steph, which will be AWESOME! Lastly, It's Grey's Day and I'm pumped. There, those are the reasons **

**Oh, and you totally saw this coming in this chapter. I am a die hard MerDer fan and dammit, I will get my way one way or another!**

**Chapter Twenty: Food Poisoning**

Meredith was having a day from hell. She had gone to Richard's office to speak with him and he couldn't see her until tomorrow, her entire body ached from she and Derek's all nighter, she had a killer headache, and she was sure she had food poisoning. It was the freaking tuna salad in the cafeteria she had for lunch. She knew the blue haired lady behind the counter had it out for her. Freaking bitch.

And Derek? Let's not get started on him. He was everywhere, which made it very difficult to avoid him. It was her nature to avoid when things got difficult. If you ignored it, then eventually it would go away, right? Not Derek. Apparently, the quality time they spend together last night left him begging for more. His perverted, 'meet me in the on call room at noon so we can relive last night a little' texts proved it. Not that she didn't want it, too, but her vagina reminded her every time she moved that it needed a break.

Besides, you couldn't have sex with the person that you are currently trying to avoid. That would be…pointless. She could probably talk to Derek about what was bothering her, sit down with him and tell him that she was just as qualified to become chief of surgery when Richard retired, but she was afraid of what he'd say. She wanted him to say that he loved her and he agreed that, although they would be competing for the same job, they'd still be in love. It would be fun, friendly competition between the two of them, creating sexual tension that they'd release later on in the evening when they got home and Jordan was in bed for the night.

That's what she'd hope would come out of it if she talked openly about. In her fantasy, that is.

But, in reality, she'd tell him and he'd say that he moved to Seattle to be chief and that was his main focus. He'd say that Richard offered it to him and he was a shoo in and he wanted her as long as she knew that his first priority was running the hospital. They'd fight and say hurtful things to one another. She would ask him to make a choice and he'd choose the hospital. Then he'd leave her.

Let's face it; she never did make the best choices when it came to men. In college, she was a tequila drinking whore and slept with more men than she cared to remember. Then, there was Charlie. She got pregnant with Jordan and when she told him, he left her. Even Thatcher left her, although he's completely involved now. They all left her and, eventually, Derek would, too.

"It's about time you get here. Jose thought you stood him up," Cristina greeted her as she walked into Joe's. She held up a shot glass full of amber liquid. "First drink is on me."

"Thanks," Meredith said, sitting down at the barstool beside her. "I have had a crappy day."

Cristina nodded. "You look like shit," she agreed. "Although, from what I've heard, you didn't get too much sleep last night." She smirked.

"I know," Meredith groaned, lifting the shot glass to her mouth. Suddenly, her stomach lurched at the smell of the tequila in the glass and she quickly placed the full glass back down on the counter. "Ugh," she grumbled.

Cristina eyed her curiously as she munched on peanuts. "What's wrong?"

Meredith wrinkled her nose and pushed the glass away. "I can't drink that," she announced.

"You, Meredith Grey, can't drink tequila?" Cristina asked.

"My stomach is doing summer salts," Meredith said. "I think I got food poisoning today from the tuna fish in the cafeteria."

Cristina observed her for a moment. "I had the tuna fish today and I feel fine."

"It must be my nerves then," Meredith decided. "Joe, can I have a ginger ale?" she asked, when Joe the bartender came their way.

"Have you talked to Derek about the chief thing?" Cristina asked.

"No," Meredith said, sipping at the soda that Joe put in front of her.

"Are you avoiding?" Cristina asked.

"No," Meredith said quickly. She looked up and made eye contact with Cristina, "Yes," she admitted.

"A lot of good that will do," Cristina rolled her eyes. "You have to talk to him, its called communication." Meredith shrugged and Cristina rolled her eyes. "You have to be the most retarded person when it comes to relationships, Mer. Seriously."

"Me?" Meredith replied. "I am perfectly…fine in relationships. It's them. Them and their stupid boy penises."

"Oh, Mr. Fix it incoming," Cristina said, looking up at the door when the bell rang. Meredith turned around to see Derek and Mark entering the bar, both smiling and engrossed in conversation as they headed to a booth in the corner.

Meredith turned around quickly. "He's probably talking to Mark about his ten year plan when he becomes chief," she muttered.

"Right," Cristina agreed. "Which is why he's already noticed you and is undressing you with his eyes. Shit, here he comes, I'm outta here." She grabbed her glass. "I see Callie and Arizona over in the booth. Have fun communicating."

Meredith closed her eyes for a moment until she felt Derek's hand snake around her "Hey," he murmured in her ear. "How are you?"

"Hey," she looked up at him, meeting his lip in a kiss. "Fine. What are you doing here?"

Derek grinned widely. "Mark and I decided to get a drink. I was going to tell you I'd be home later than usual, but I didn't see you today." He sat down at the barstool beside her. "Everything ok?" he asked, noticing how quiet she was.

"I'm fine," Meredith answered. "Just…tired and sore."

Derek grinned mischievously. "Me, too. I'm thinking that we should leave here soon, go home and I will massage every aching muscle in your body." He wiggled his eyebrows, "Jordan is at your parents for the night?" Meredith nodded. "After the massage, can Sergeant Meredith join us?" Meredith shrugged.

Derek frowned. That wasn't the reaction that he had hoped she'd give him. If he didn't know any better, he thought that she was avoiding him. It was what she did when she had a problem. "What's the problem, Meredith?"

"Nothing," she said quietly, tears filling her eyes. "You know, I have to go," she said, standing abruptly. "I'll see you later, okay?" She turned and quickly left the bar.

Derek stood, motioned to Mark that he was leaving with Meredith and followed her out the door. He quickly caught up to her as she made her way to her car in the hospital parking lot. "Hold it," he said, coming up behind her and grabbing onto her arm. "There is a problem. Mind telling me about it?"

"Leave me alone, Derek," she warned, trying to turn away from him, but he wasn't easing his grip on her.

"No, I'm not. There's something bothering you and you need to tell me what it is, please." He made her face him, but she avoided looking into his eyes.

"I'm sick…I'm going home," she whined. She tried to yank away from his grasp. "Let me go."

"You're sick?" he asked, concern etched in his voice. "I don't want you driving then. I'll drive you home and we'll get your car in the morning."

"Don't bother," Meredith snapped. She knew that this situation was quickly escalating somewhere that she didn't want it to go, but her emotions were getting the better of her at this point.

"Meredith!" Derek yelled. "What the hell is going on with you? Why are you acting like this? Get in the car and let's go!" He never used that tone with her, not even when she accidentally backed into his car that one time.

"Oh, so now you're trying to tell me what to do! I see how it is!" she yelled back. "You've got another thing coming, Derek Shepherd. I can't believe that you never once discussed it with me and I had to here it in a conversation between you and your mother. I deserved better than that, Derek. I graduated from Dartmouth at the top of my class, for Christ sake! I…had a baby and managed to become a doctor anyway. I worked fucking hard to get where I am and I am just as qualified as you for the position."

Derek frowned. "What?" He had no idea what she was talking about.

"You may think that being chief is yours when Richard retires, but I'm going to tell you something, I will fight you tooth and nail for it and once it's mine, you can move your ass back to New York where it belongs!" There it was.

Derek stood there, speechless, dropping his arms to his sides limply. Who was this woman standing in front of him? Did she just tell him that she wanted him gone in a round about way? This thing between them, it mattered to him more than it mattered to her? No, this couldn't be right. "Meredith," he breathed.

"I have to go," she said, tears streaming down her face.

Derek watched her as she ran to her car. He wanted to go after her, but his feet wouldn't budge. He felt like his whole world had crumbled down around him. Was she saying they were done? Had she just broken up with him? He felt like someone had just sucker punched him in the stomach.

He stood there for what seemed like forever. When he did move, it wasn't towards his car to follow Meredith home. It wasn't back to the bar to hang out with Mark. It was suddenly clear to him what mattered and he knew what he needed to do in order to get that.

****

"She won't get out of bed," Jordan said, opening the door. "She won't stop crying. She says she's sick."

Cristina flew into the house. Jordan had called her about a half hour ago saying that there was something wrong with Meredith and he wanted to know if he should call 911. Cristina told him not to, knowing what Meredith's problem was, and said that she would be right there. "Jordan, go finish getting ready for school and I will drop you off."

"Okay," Jordan said, moving towards the kitchen. He turned around to look at her. "Aunt Cris? Is my mom okay? I tried to call Derek 'cause she says he makes her feel better, but I just got his voicemail."

"She's fine," Cristina answered. "She's an idiot, but she's fine."

She sprinted up the stairs, down the hall and flung Meredith's bedroom door open. "Get out of bed!" she yelled. Meredith was sprawled out under the comforter with her pillow over her head. She jumped at Cristina's loud voice, but didn't move. "Meredith," Cristina said. "Get the fuck up, now!"

Meredith groaned. "Leave me alone," came her muffled reply. "Leave me here to rot."

"No," Cristina moved to the side of her bed. "No, because I'd have to smell your stanky ass if I did. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Meredith threw the pillow off of her head. She burst into tears. "I've ruined my life!" she wailed. "And I'm sick."

"That's what happens when you drink tequila, remember? You become one big pile of vomit." Cristina grimaced, remembering Meredith in her tequila drinking college days. She used to hold Meredith's hair while she puked. Not a pleasant memory.

"I didn't drink tequila. No alcohol has entered my body," Meredith said, sitting up and groaning. "Hand me my puke bucket!" She pointed to her bathroom trash can beside her bed. Cristina grabbed it quickly and handed it to her just as she vomited into the trash can. "I told you I got food poisoning," she muttered, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Yeah, food poisoning," Cristina replied. "Get up. You're going to be late for work."

"I can't go there and see him," Meredith whispered, handing the trash can back to Cristina and lying back down.

"Who? Derek?" Cristina asked.

Meredith nodded. "I told him about the chief thing."

"And?" Cristina prodded. "What did he say?"

"Nothing," Meredith said quietly. "He just stood there. I did all the talking. Well…not talking, more like yelling," Meredith sobbed. "I told him to go back to New York where he belonged. I think we broke up."

Cristina sighed. "You really are a relationship tard! I told you to talk to him about it, not rip him a new asshole! Get your ass out of bed, get dressed, and get into the car. I have to drop Jordan off at school and get to the hospital in time for my valve replacement at nine thirty. You need to fix this with him before it's too late." Cristina jumped up and stood on top of the bed. "Move, move, move!" She kicked Meredith in the ass with her shoe. "Get out of bed and for God's sake, brush your teeth!"

Meredith moved out of bed like someone shot her in the ass. She grabbed the trash can, turned to glare at her and walked towards her bathroom. "Wait a minute," Cristina said, reaching into the inside pocket of her jacket. "Take this with you." She pulled a home pregnancy test out of her jacket and handed it to her. "You don't have food poisoning, you're pregnant."

**HAHAHAHA!!!!**


	22. Sore Loser

**Okay, here t'is. There are three more chapters after this one and then, maybe, an epilogue. This is a filler chapter, kinda sorta. If it sucks, blame Steph because I asked her to proofread. Oh, and there is a section in here that I "stole" from one of my all time favorite movies. See if you can figure it out.**

**Enjoy the chapter and remember: I believe in happily ever after ;)**

**Chapter Twenty One: Sore Loser**

"I'm not pregnant," Meredith argued, following Cristina down the hall. "There's no way. I'm on the pill."

"And how often do you forget to take that pill?" Cristina asked, stopping to turn and look at Meredith.

"I…just a few times, but I did what it said. I doubled up the next day," Meredith argued. "I used to do it all the time in college."

"Right," Cristina said sarcastically. "Right around that time you found out about Jordan, Meredith. Seriously?" Cristina rolled her eyes. This whole Meredith Derek situation was beginning to annoy the crap out of her. Especially since Meredith vomited all through her car. "What did the test say?"

"I…didn't take it yet," Meredith said softly. "And I probably won't take it because I'm not pregnant."

Cristina sighed and grabbed the intern that was walking by them. "Dr. Mostow, diagnose this case accordingly. Dr. Grey and I seem to be at odds with it."

"O..okay," Steve said nervously, his eyes shifting from one woman to the other.

Cristina stared at Meredith. "A thirty six year old female comes in, presenting with nausea. She's overly emotional, cries at the drop of a hat, picks fights with her boyfriend, and forgets to take her birth control pill on time."

Meredith glared at Cristina and then glared at Steve, who was nervously trying to process the information in his brain. "Does she have a fever?" he asked.

"No," Cristina said. "No fever, no chills."

"Uh.." Steve stalled. "The first thing I'd order is a pregnancy test. At first, I thought maybe food poisoning, but she doesn't display the correct symptoms. It sounds to me like she's pregnant, I mean, she forgets to take her pills."

Cristina smirked at Meredith, who glared back at Steve. "You're late for rounds," Meredith growled, through clenched teeth.

"Yes, Dr. Grey," Steve said, his shoes squeaking on the linoleum as he tried to get away from them as fast as he could.

*****

There was only one way to put Cristina in her place. She would take the damn test and wave it in her face, proving to her that she was wrong all along. That was what Meredith had intended to do, until she actually took the test. She hated those digital pregnancy tests, you know, the ones that flashed 'pregnant' or 'not pregnant'. It was like a slap in the face.

She pulled the test out of her lab coat and looked at it again, silently hoping that maybe she read it wrong. Nope. The word 'pregnant' was there, clear as day. "What the hell am I going to do?" she whispered to herself.

She knew what she was going to do. She was going to have a baby. She and Derek made a baby together and the thought of it made her love him even more. But, she broke up with him and she was sure that after her melt down in the parking lot yesterday, he wouldn't speak to her again. If she were him, she wouldn't speak to her again.

She flopped down on the sofa in her office, her mind going a mile a minute. She placed her hand on her flat stomach, smiling at the realization that someone was in there. A person that was half her and half Derek. A person that was currently trying to suck the life right out of her. She was exhausted.

Meredith glanced at the clock remembering that she needed to pick up Jordan from school in two hours. That gave her enough time to lie down and take a quick nap. Her meeting with the chief was later on today and she needed to look presentable. She couldn't approach the chief about being chief if she looked like hell.

She stretched out along the couch, shifting a little to make herself comfortable. She sighed as her head hit the pillow. She just needed some time to recharge her batteries.

***

"I'm a bit confused," Mark said, leaning back in his chair as he and Derek sat in the cafeteria eating lunch. "Just yesterday you two were getting ready to build a house together and today, you're not together anymore?" He looked across the table at Derek, who was slumped in his chair. He looked like hell with the dark circles under his eyes and the stubble that covered his face.

"I don't know," Derek sighed. "She told me to go back to New York where I belonged…once she was chief, that is."

"Was she drunk?" Mark asked.

"I don't think she had been drinking anything," Derek replied. He ran his fingers helplessly through his hair. "I had no idea she felt that way."

Mark nodded. "So, can this whole thing be fixed?"

Derek stared at him for a moment. "I hope so, she means everything to me."

"So, what are you going to do?" Mark asked.

"Well, she won't return my phone calls so we can talk about this, but hopefully, I'll see her tonight when I pick Jordan up for cub scouts," Derek said.

"Hey, Derek!" Jordan called, walking into the cafeteria.

Derek turned around quickly. "Hey, bud," he said, surprised to see him, noticing that an older gentleman was following him in. Derek stood up and looked at the gentleman, "Who are you?"

"This is Gary," Jordan said. "He drives a taxi cab."

Gary held his hand out to Derek. "Nice to meet you, sir." Derek gave Jordan a confused look as she shook Gary's hand.

"How do you know Gary, Jordan?" Derek asked.

"He brought me here in his taxi," Jordan replied. "Because mom was supposed to pick me up and she didn't 'cause she's sick, so I called a taxi to bring me here."

"She's sick?" Derek frowned. It wasn't like Meredith to forget about Jordan. He was sure she wasn't in surgery today, her name wasn't on the surgical board. He knew that because he checked, hoping to at some point pull her aside and talk.

"Yeah," Jordan nodded. "She was really sick this morning. Cristina came over."

Now he was concerned. The fact that Meredith was sick and she hadn't called him hurt. He would have come over that morning to help get Jordan ready for school and take care of her, but instead, Cristina came. "Why didn't she call me?" he said out loud.

"You didn't answer," Jordan answered. "I called you first 'cause she was crying for you, but I got your voicemail."

Derek pulled his phone out of his pocket, realizing that the ringer was on silent. He noticed three missed calls from Meredith's home phone. "I'm sorry, Jordan, my ringer was turned off." Meredith was crying for him, she needed him and he hadn't been there.

Jordan shrugged, "It's okay, Aunt Cris was there and helped her and then she took me to school." He burst out laughing. "Wanna hear something funny?" Derek raised his eyebrows.

"Aunt Cris got soooo mad at mom for puking in her car. She tossed her cookies all over the floor!"

Derek raised his eyebrows at Jordan's statement. "So, your mom's at work?" Derek asked.

"Yes," Jordan nodded. "That's why I told Gary to bring me here."

Derek looked back at Gary. "Thanks for bringing him to me, Gary."

"No problem, sir," Gary said. "He's quite a character, this boy. Smart as a whip."

Derek chuckled, "That he is. Thanks for your time."

"He needs paid for the ride here. You owe him twenty bucks," Jordan informed him.

*****

It was a stare down between Mark and Jordan. Derek had left Mark to look after him while he went in search for Meredith. She wasn't answering her phone or his pages, so Derek had decided to check in her office. Now, it was just them, fighting over who was Derek's best friend.

"What's your name?" Jordan asked.

"Dr. Mark Sloan, head of plastics," Mark replied.

"Where's your house?" Jordan asked, never blinking his eyes.

"I don't have one," Mark replied, staring right back.

"How come?" Jordan asked.

"I don't need one," Mark explained.

"Where's your wife?" Jordan asked, not missing a beat.

"I don't have one," Mark replied. This kid was too much.

"Why not?" Jordan asked.

"It's a long story," Mark said.

"Do you have kids?" Jordan asked.

"No I don't," Mark replied.

"Why not," Jordan asked, propping his chin up on his hands.

"It's an even longer story," Mark said.

"Are you friends with Derek?" Jordan asked.

"Yes, I'm his best friend," Mark said, emphasizing the word best.

"Nu uh," Jordan shook his head. "I'm Derek's best friend."

"Says who?" Mark asked, leaning closer to Jordan.

"Says me," Jordan said. "I'm his best friend in the whole world." Mark chuckled. Was he really arguing with a nine year old? "I'm serious," Jordan snapped, scooting his chair closer to Mark and offering him his hand. "I'll arm wrestle you for him."

"What?" Mark asked. Was this kid for real?

"What, you chicken?" Jordan asked. "Cause you look like someone who would be a chicken. You're afraid I'll beat you 'cause I'm the best arm wrestler in my school. No one can beat me, not even Kaden Thomas who wrestles for real."

"I will have you know that I lift weights at the gym. You will not beat me at arm wrestling," Mark said.

"Prove it," Jordan said, wiggling his eyebrows at him and opening and closing his wrestling hand.

"I am not arm wrestling you," Mark rolled his eyes.

"Sissy," Jordan taunted.

Mark inched his chair closer quickly. "Ok, you're on," he said, clasping Jordan's hand in his and trying to stare him down.

"Look!" Jordan pointed with his other hand. "A hot girl!"

Mark whipped around to look and as he did, Jordan shoved his hand down onto the table. "I win!" he cried.

Mark turned back around and glanced at Jordan's hand pinning his. "You cheated," Mark said, glaring at him.

"You're a sore loser," Jordan replied. "It's not my fault you fell for it."

"Okay," Mark said, putting his elbow back on the table. "Two out of three. Winner takes all."

**This chapter was brought to you today by the letter "A".........**


	23. Knocked Out

**Okay, first let me just say…viruses suck. What sucks worse is when those said viruses crash your computer and you have to rewrite the ENTIRE chapter. Luckily, I have a great memory, so it wasn't that hard. **

**Thanks to everyone for being so patient:)**

**Chapter 22: Knocked Out**

Derek gently opened the door to Meredith's office and was greeted by her soft snoring. It was like music to his ears. He missed that sound. Granted, he had only spent one night at the trailer away from her, but now he needed her snoring in order to sleep. Needless to say, his night in the trailer was a sleepless one.

Derek stepped into her office and smiled when he saw her sleeping peacefully on the sofa. She lay on her side, her hands tucked up under her cheek. Her mouth was hanging open slightly. She was probably drooling. It reminded Derek of all the mornings when he woke before her and just watched her sleep. He loved watching her sleep.

He quietly closed the door and moved across the room to where she was sleeping. He crouched down beside her and studied her features. She had dark circles under her eyes and she was pale, but nonetheless, she had a glow to her. A glow that Derek had never noticed until now.

"Meredith," Derek whispered, smoothing his hand over her hair. She didn't stir. "Meredith," he said again, this time a little louder.

"Hmmph," she muttered. "Just five more minutes." She rubbed her nose with the back of her hand.

Derek moved his hand to her arm and rubbed up and down. "Jordan said that you're sick. Are you okay?"

"Fine," she said sleepily. Derek watched as her eyes popped open. "What? Jordan?" She sat up quickly and looked at her watch. "Crap! I'm late! Jordan is going to be so upset!" she exclaimed, jumping off the sofa and scrambling across her office to get her jacket. "I can't believe I overslept. I just closed my eyes for a second."

Derek stood up and followed her across the room. "Mer, Jordan is okay. He's down in the cafeteria with Mark."

Meredith stopped her frantic movements and exhaled deeply at Derek's words. She had pictured Jordan sitting alone at the school waiting for her to pick him up. Knowing that he was okay and safe made her relax a little. That was, until she noticed how Derek was looking at her. "What?" she asked, avoiding his penetrating gaze.

"Meredith," Derek said softly. "We need to talk.' He moved closer to her.

Meredith simply nodded her agreement and kept her eyes trained to the floor. He moved even closer to her. So close that she could literally smell him and it made her weak in the knees. "We need to talk about what happened yesterday, Meredith," he said sternly. "What's going on with you?"

Meredith looked at the floor. "Why didn't you tell me that you came to Seattle to be chief?" she asked. "I thought that was something that you'd at least have the decency to tell me."

"I…" Derek paused. "I didn't think to tell you, Meredith. To be honest, since I've moved here, I have had three things on my mind. You, Jordan, and surgery. Actually, I totally forgot about becoming Chief."

Meredith looked up at him. "You did?" Without thinking, her hand went to her stomach.

Derek nodded. "I did. Meredith, you are the love of my life. I told you that I wanted to marry you, have more kids with you, build a home and a life with you and I thought that you wanted that, too."

"I…" Meredith paused. She wanted that, she wanted all of that with him. She wanted it so badly. If he only knew what she knew at that moment. "I wasn't a part of your plan when you moved out here, Derek." Why did she keep going back to this? She had no idea.

Derek nodded. "Yes, but plans change. I never expected to leave New York, but you know how that came to happen. Why are you second guessing me, Meredith? Don't you see? Don't you understand? You're the love of my life and my plans changed when I moved here." Meredith remained silent. She realized then what an idiot she'd made of herself. "But if you're not in this," he continued. "Please, just tell me, because I'm in it." He felt the tears in his eyes. "Put me out of my misery."

Suddenly, Meredith's pager went off. She unclipped the pager from the waistband of her scrubs and read it. "It's the Chief," she said out loud. "I'm late for my meeting with the chief. I…have to go," she said. She grabbed her lab coat and shrugged it on. She purposely avoided looking at him because she could feel him watching her.

"Meredith," she heard him say as she opened the door. She turned to look at him. "I'll wait," he said simply. "I'll wait until you're ready. I love you." He smiled at her.

Meredith returned the smile. How did her life go from simple to complicated so quickly? Oh, that's right, when she fell in love with a stupid brain man.

*****

"Ah, Meredith," Richard said, looking up as Meredith entered the room.

"Chief, thanks for taking the time to see me," she replied, sitting down in the chair facing him across his desk.

"I always have time for my favorite head of general surgery," he joked.

Meredith smiled. "That I am," she agreed. She wasn't quite sure how to bring up the subject on why she was there to begin with. "How is Adele?" she asked suddenly.

Richard chuckled. "My wife can't wait for me to retire from this hospital," he informed her. "So I can take her on a vacation."

"Sounds like you have a very smart wife," Meredith laughed.

Richard smiled and nodded. "Yes," he agreed. He suddenly became serious, "Meredith, please sit down. There's something I want to talk to you about." Meredith sat down in the chair across from him at his desk. "I'm retiring soon, Meredith," Richard continued. "And I need to be sure that I choose someone who will be able to run this hospital the way I do."

Meredith nodded. "That makes sense, sir."

"Which is why I want you to take over," Richard said. "There is no doubt in my mind that you would be successful as Chief of Surgery."

"Me?" Meredith squeaked. This was not how she anticipated this meeting to go. She had planned on demanding to know why Derek was offered the position before anyone else had a chance to prove them worthy of it. "What about Dr. Shepherd?" she asked.

Richard sighed. "Derek is distracted. Apparently he's in love. I had no idea he was even dating anyone. She must be something, though, for him to come to me and tell me that he was taking himself out of the running."

Meredith blinked. "What?" Apparently she and Derek's relationship wasn't as obvious as they had thought. Richard obviously had no idea that she and Derek were together.

Richard looked at her. "When I first contacted Dr. Shepherd about working for me out here, part of the agreement was that he would take over as chief when I stepped down," he explained.

"I see," Meredith said. She wasn't sure what to say at that point.

"But after he came to me and said that he was no longer interested in the position and I needed to consider the other several people working here who were just as qualified as him for the job, it got me thinking," Richard said. Meredith's eyebrows shot upward. Derek had gone to Richard and told him that he was no longer interested in Chief of Surgery? Why hadn't he told her that? "I've been watching your work, Meredith," Richard continued. "And to say the least, I'm impressed. You are a phenomenal surgeon; you remind me a lot of your mother."

"Thank you, sir," Meredith nodded. Before her death, Ellis Grey was a world renowned surgeon. Being compared to her mother in that way was the highest compliment that Meredith could ever receive.

"Which is why," Richard continued. "When I retire, I would like to offer the position to you."

Meredith's eyes grew wide. "Me?" she squeaked. "You want me to take over as Chief when you retire?" Richard nodded. "What if Derek changes his mind?"

Richard shook his head. "He won't, he asked me to draw up a new contract taking the Chief part out of it. He's serious about this woman. He even showed me the ring he plans to give her."

"What?" Meredith gasped. Derek had gotten her a ring?

"It's a beautiful ring, he told me that it belonged to his mother and she gave it to him because she knew that this girl was the one for him." Richard leaned forward at his desk. "So, Dr. Grey, will you accept my proposal. Will you be the next Chief of Surgery?"

*****

"Your car smells a lot better than Cristina's did today," Jordan said from the back seat of Derek's car. "Her car smelled really, really bad!"

Derek was taking Jordan to cub scouts. He didn't get the chance to talk to Meredith any more that day and he hoped to talk to her tonight when he dropped Jordan off. "I bet," he smiled.

"Cristina said so many swear words I lost count," Jordan informed him.

Derek shook his head, laughing. "How dare she swear in front of you?"

"I'd swear, too, if someone puked in my car," Jordan decided.

Derek's smile faded. It really bothered him how sick Meredith was. "You know what, Bud? Let's stop by the deli on our way back from scouts and get Mom some chicken noodle soup," Derek said.

"She'd like that," Jordan agreed. "Derek?"

"What?" Derek asked.

"Did you know that in college, my mom got knocked out?"

"No," Derek said. "How do you know that?"

"Mom was complaining about throwing up and Cristina told her that's what she got for getting knocked out again," Jordan said.

"What do you mean?" Derek asked.

"Okay," Jordan started. "Stay with me on this, Derek. After Mom threw up for like the bazillionth time she said 'I wish I would stop throwing up'. Then, Cristina said, 'Well you're the dumb BLEEP who got yourself knocked out again. Seriously, Meredith, get a clue'. Then, I asked Mom when she got knocked out before and Cristina said in college."

Derek thought for a moment. What Jordan was telling him didn't make sense. Granted, when someone had a concussion, one of the symptoms could be throwing up, but he was almost positive that Meredith had never had a concussion. Actually, he knew that for a fact because she had told him that in a random conversation they were having one day, telling each other little facts about themselves.

Derek was just about to ask Jordan another question to investigate the situation more when Jordan spoke again. "Oh! And then, Cristina said 'you better hope you don't puke for the entire nine months this time like you did with Jordan."

**Backs Away Quickly..........**


	24. Blabber Mouth

**OK, one more chapter/epilogue after this one. Thanks for all of the reviews and comments. You all totally make my day! I hope everyone likes this chapter!**

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Blabber Mouth**

Meredith sighed as she walked into her quiet house. She walked into the living room and flopped down on the couch. She reached into the pocket of her coat and pulled out her lab results that were completed earlier that day. She scanned its contents thoroughly. Yep, without a shadow of a doubt, she was pregnant.

She tossed the paper aside and sighed again, throwing her head back against the couch cushions, deep in thought. She giggled lightly, remembering how she had freaked out the last time she was in this position. She was sure that Cristina was going to lock her away in a psych ward somewhere when she had found out she was pregnant with Jordan. But, things were different now. She wasn't a student in college; she had a great job and a steady income. She was closer to her father and step mother this time around for the extra support. And there was Derek. She was almost positive that he would be thrilled about the baby. He had said that he wanted to have more kids with her. Granted, this baby came before they ever expected, but he or she would be wanted; by both of them.

Meredith stood up suddenly and started pacing around the room. Her mind went back to the conversation that she'd had with Derek in her office earlier that day.

Derek had wanted an explanation about her behavior. He had wanted to know if there was still a "them". As far as she was concerned, there was, and she had a lot of apologizing to do.

Where did she start? She had flipped out on him over the whole Chief thing. Now, the more she thought about it, the more stupid it sounded. Yeah, she worked hard to get where she was, so did Derek. They both were successful surgeons. But they also were people. Two people who loved each other and wanted to build a life together. She knew that now that Richard told her what Derek had done. And he had gotten her a ring. His mother's ring.

Meredith's eyes fell to the corner of the living room, where the rolled up blue prints were that mapped out their dream house. The house with French doors, kid's bedrooms, and a wrap around porch. It was then that Meredith knew what she needed to do.

***

"Okay, tell me again," Derek said as he and Jordan pulled onto Harper Lane after cub scouts.

Jordan groaned from the backseat. Derek had drilled him the entire way home about his mom and he was getting tired of repeating himself. "What?" Jordan moaned.

"You said Cristina said your mom was knocked out, right?" Derek asked, looking at him through the rearview mirror.

"Yes," Jordan nodded.

"You're sure?" Derek prodded.

"I'm kinda sure," Jordan said. "I'm nine, I can't remember everything." He threw his hands up in the air.

"Are you sure that Cristina didn't say knocked up instead of knocked out?" Derek asked, turning slightly to look at him.

"Uhh," Jordan thought for a moment. "I think…hmm…I think she said…LOOK OUT!"

Derek frowned. 'Look out?" he asked.

"The mailbox!" Jordan yelled, pointing in front of them.

Derek turned to look and swerved, causing the corner bumper of his car to connect with Meredith's mailbox. He slammed on the brakes and put the car in park. He turned around to Jordan, who was looking back at him with wide eyes.

"You hit mom's mailbox," Jordan said. "She's gonna freak." Jordan unhooked his seatbelt, opened the car door, and hopped outside. Derek followed and they both moved to the front of the car to inspect the damage.

"Mom will not freak," Derek decided, looking at the broken off wooden post and mail box that were pinned under his car.

"Yes she will," Jordan nodded. "You're a gonner."

"No, I'm not," Derek argued. "It was an accident."

"Don't matter," Jordan said, shaking his head. "When Mom finds out you hit her mailbox, you're toast."

"Mom won't know if it's fixed before she finds out," Derek explained.

"Who's gonna fix it?" Jordan asked curiously.

"We are," Derek smirked. He looked around and noticed that Meredith's car was not in the driveway. "You and I are going to the man store to get materials to fix this. Come on, let's go," Derek said, motioning for Jordan to get back into the car.

Jordan crossed his arms over his chest. "No way," he argued.

Derek frowned. "Why not?"

Jordan pointed at him. "You are a bad driver," he announced, shaking his head. "You don't keep your eyes on the road at all times. I don't feel safe riding in a car with you."

****

"Where is your mom?" Derek asked Jordan as they sat on the couch hours later watching Spongebob. They had gone to Home Depot, got the supplies they needed to fix the mailbox, fixed the mailbox, and now they were lounging on the couch watching television.

"Maybe she fell asleep again," Jordan replied. He suddenly sat up. "I'm hungry, let's get something to eat."

Derek absently flipped through the channels. "What are you hungry for?" He was rather hungry himself, now that he thought of it.

"Trout," Jordan decided. "Let's go fishing."

Derek raised an eyebrow at him. "We're not going fishing," he said.

"Want me to tell mom about her mailbox? 'Cause I will," he warned.

Derek sighed. He didn't need on Meredith's bad side any more than he already was. The last thing he needed was Jordan blabbing to her about what recently happened. "Fine," Derek said. "Let's go fishing."

"Awesome!" Jordan said, jumping off of the sofa. "I can't believe how easy that was!"

Derek rolled his eyes. "Get your shoes on and let's go."

The drive to his trailer went quickly, Jordan's mouth never stopped. Derek's mind kept wandering to Meredith, where she was, and if she was okay. He tried to call her cell phone a few times, but each time, his call went straight to voice mail. Now that there was a possibility that she was carrying his child, he was more worried about her than ever.

"Let's get some drinks before we go down to the lake," Derek said, opening the door to his trailer so Jordan could enter. He looked at the sky, "and we'll need to get some lanterns because it will be dark by the time we get down there."

"Cool, night fishing!" Jordan exclaimed. Derek began to follow Jordan into the trailer, but stopped when something in the distance caught his eye. In the clearing, where he and Meredith had planned to build their house, the field was lit up. "Hey, there are my little green army men!" Jordan exclaimed. "I forgot that I left them here!" Derek turned to look at him and realized that now Jordan was suddenly distracted.

"Be right back, bud," Derek aid. Jordan waived his hand at him, silently telling him that now that he found his long lost army guys, fishing wasn't going to happen.

Derek walked out of the trailer and towards the lights. The closer he got, he noticed that someone was there, pacing back and forth. It wasn't until he got to the clearing that he realized that the person was Meredith. Meredith, surrounded by candles. Meredith, who was muttering to herself.

"Stupid, idiotic, I cannot believe I did this. Stupid loser," he heard her mutter. He bit his lip, trying not to smile. "Son of a…I could be at home instead of…ugh. Stupid brain man."

"Meredith," he said.

She jumped at his voice, "Where have you been?" she demanded. "I've been waiting and waiting for you! And I did this stupid, embarrassing, humiliating, corny thing." Derek looked around at the many candles surrounding Meredith. They appeared to be in the layout of a house. Their house. "And I was just gonna tell you that," she continued, pointing to a corner of the candle framed house, "this, over here, is our kitchen, and this is our living room, and over there," she pointed to a corner. "That's the room where Jordan and the baby can play. I had this whole thing about I was gonna build us a house, but I don't build houses because I'm a surgeon. And now I'm here feeling like a lame ass loser and it's ruined because you took so long to come home." She stopped talking and planted her hands on her hips.

Derek took a moment to register what she had just said. Did she really just say that there would be a room where Jordan and the baby could play? He walked towards her. "This is the kitchen? Living room – a little small. The view is much better from here. And that's the room where Jordan and the baby will play?" He stared at her, waiting for her to answer him.

"Yes, Derek, the baby. We're having a baby," she announced. "But I'm still mad at you and I don't know that I trust you. I want to trust you, but I don't know if I do. So I'm just gonna try, I'm gonna try and trust you because I want this with you, Derek. This house, this life, this baby…" She was cut off by Derek's mouth crashing into hers

Meredith felt the relief wash over her as she melted into his kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss, trying to apologize for her actions without words. She was sure that she was forgiven when his tongue entered her mouth, sliding sensuously against hers. Minutes later, Derek broke off the kiss and pressed his forehead against hers. "We're having a baby?" he whispered.

"Yes," Meredith whispered back, pulling back to look him in the eye. "Are you happy?"

"Meredith…" Derek paused. "I'm overjoyed. I've wanted this with you the moment I met you."

"You did?" Meredith asked.

Derek nodded. "I did, which is why I went to Richard and told him that I wasn't interested in chief. You and Jordan," he paused, moving his hand to her stomach. "And now this baby, our family is more important to me than any job."

Meredith wrapped her arms around him and buried her nose in his neck. "Our family is more important than anything, too. I'm not interested in chief either."

Derek pulled back to look at her. "Seriously?"

Meredith nodded. "Yes, I told Richard that I wasn't interested in it, either. Wonder who our new boss will be?"

Derek pulled her to him and wrapped his arms tightly around her. "Who cares, I got my family back," he kissed the top of her head.

"Yes," Meredith agreed. They were a family.

***

Meredith followed Derek and Jordan back to the house in her car. After a dinner of trout, per Jordan's request, they decided to head back into the city. Jordan had school the next day and Meredith didn't want him to be out past his bed time. Besides, she had some "make up" plans with Derek once Jordan went to bed, and the sooner he got to bed the better. Her pregnancy hormones were causing her libido to go through the roof.

She pulled off the ferry and felt her cell phone vibrate in her pocket. She fished it out and noticed that the call was from Cristina.

"I have great news," Cristina said when Meredith answered.

"I told Derek about the baby," Meredith blurted.

"You did?" Cristina asked, shock in her voice. "What did he say?"

"He's…happy. I'm happy, we're a family."

"That is great news," Cristina said. "Now, onto me."

Meredith rolled her eyes. "What about you?"

"You are talking to the new Chief of Surgery," Cristina announced.

"Really?" Meredith bit her lip, trying not to giggle.

"Yep," Cristina said. "But you already knew that I'd get it, so you don't need to congratulate me."

Meredith smiled. "You're right," she nodded. "You did get chief over me, and quite frankly, there's no one better suited for the position. Congratulations."

"Thank you," Cristina said. "How did Mr. Fix it take the baby news?"

Meredith smiled as she pulled onto Harper Lane. "He's great," she said. "Very excited." She pulled into her driveway behind Derek.

"That's nice," Cristina said in a monotone voice. "Makes me choke up thinking about you telling him."

"Shut up," Meredith giggled. "Gotta go, I have a movie date with two handsome men." She said good-bye to Cristina, got out of her car, and walked up to where Derek and Jordan were waiting for her.

"Mom, your mailbox looks good tonight, huh?" Jordan said out of nowhere.

Derek snapped his head around to look at him. "Jordan," he hissed.

Meredith turned to look at the mailbox, but had a hard time seeing it because it was dark. "It looks okay, why?"

"No reason," Derek said quickly.

"No reason," Jordan mimicked. "You're just lucky that no one hit it because then Derek and I would have to go to the man store and get stuff to fix it."

Derek sighed and closed his eyes. What a blabber mouth.

Meredith eyed the two up and down. They definitely knew something. There was guilt written all over their faces and they wouldn't look at her. "I'm glad that no one hit my mailbox again because that would make me very mad."

"Derek did it!" Jordan yelled suddenly. "Derek hit your mailbox today on an accident on the way home from cub scouts! Then we went to the man store to get stuff to fix it." He paused to look at Derek apologetically. "Sorry, Derek, I can't get on her bad side."

**I like comments...I like them A LOT!!**


	25. Telling Jordan

**OK, first of all, I want to say how truly sorry I am that it's taken me so long to update. My life has been hell the past month. Nothing's wrong with the family, no one is sick. I am suffereing from a broken heart and it hit me hard.**

**Keeping that in mind, I cannot believe the amount of cheese in this chapter. I didn't think it was possible considering what I've just gone through. **

**I've learned two things from my unfortunate situation:**

**1. Men are stupid**

**2. Men like Derek Shepherd DON'T EXIST!!! They can't...he's just way to perfect. Like in this chapter you're about to read.....**

**Ok enough rambling. I hope you enjoy the LAST chapter of this story :p**

**Chapter Twenty Four: Telling Jordan**

Normally, Meredith considered herself to be a patient person. She had to be with a nine year old who tested boundaries on a daily basis. And quite frankly, no one wanted an impatient surgeon operating on them. To be a gifted surgeon, a doctor required patience. Patience is a virtue and lately she wasn't patient at all. She wanted her ring, damn it, and was getting more and more impatient as she waited for Derek to give it to her.

Where would a neurosurgeon hide a ring? A dresser drawer would be too obvious. She decided to check anyway. She got up from her spot on the bed and moved across the room to his dresser. She paused, listening for noise and gently pulled his top drawer out when she heard Derek and Jordan downstairs playing the Wii. She shuffled around the contents of the drawer. Nope, it wasn't there.

She looked around the room trying to decide where to look next. Her eyes fell on the closed closet door. Maybe it was in there. She walked to the closet and flung the door open, snapping the light on. She stepped in and looked around. If I were a ring, where would I be?

"Hey," Derek said, standing in the doorway of the closet. Meredith yelped in surprise. Busted. She turned slowly to look at him. She hoped she didn't have a guilty look on her face. "What are you doing?" he asked, smirking a little. She was definitely snooping for something, the guilty look was written all over her face.

"Heyyyyy," she said, trying to act casual. "I'm….looking for my…yoga pants. I can't find them anywhere." She bit her lip, hoping that he bought it.

He reached right beside her and pulled out a pair of black yoga pants. "These pants?" he smirked.

Meredith yanked them from him and giggled nervously. "Oh, there they are."

Derek smiled at her. She was too cute. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

Meredith smiled. "Really?" This was it. He was going to ask her.

Derek nodded. "I think we should tell Jordan about the baby before he hears it from someone else."

Meredith's smile fell, but she nodded. They definitely needed to tell him. "I agree," she said. "When do you think we should do it?"

Derek shrugged. "Let's do it after dinner."

"Jordan, your mom and I want to talk to you about something important," Derek announced.

Jordan looked back and forth between Derek and Meredith with wide eyes. "I didn't do anything wrong," he blurted out. "I didn't lose any of my recess time this week," he said.

Meredith frowned. "This week?" she repeated. "You mean that losing recess is a recurring thing for you?"

Jordan rolled his eyes. "No, Mom," he said. He looked at Derek who was staring back at him with a no nonsense expression. "Ok, yes," he said quickly.

"What do you lose recess time for?" Meredith demanded. Nothing like being left completely in the dark.

Jordan shrugged. "Don't know."

"Yes, you do know," Derek said in a stern voice.

Jordan stared at him for a minute, debating what he was going to say in his head. "Sometimes when I tell my teacher I have to go to the bathroom, I don't come right back."

"Go on," Meredith sighed, her eyes shifting to the ceiling. This should be good.

"I stop and talk to Mr. Ammerman, the janitor. He was in the army a long time ago," Jordan explained. He looked at them and groaned…they didn't look happy. "He carries tootsie rolls in his pocket. He shares them with me."

"Mr. Ammerman gives you tootsie rolls?" Derek asked, taking it in.

Jordan nodded. "Yeah, and then I go and see the secretary, Mrs. Peeler, in the office. She's got jolly ranchers."

"Seriously?" Meredith asked.

"She picks out the blue ones for me because she knows that they're the only kind I like," Jordan explained.

Meredith groaned. "Support his habit, why don't you," she said out loud.

Derek ignored her statement and raised his eyebrows. It impressed him how well Jordan manipulated people. He was a pro at it. He was sure that he would make an excellent car salesman someday.

Jordan grinned at Derek. "What's important?"

Derek sat up straight, realizing the talk he and Meredith had wanted to have with him before they were distracted by Jordan's confession. "We'll talk more about your bathroom adventures later. But, right now, Mom and I wanted to talk to you about something important that is about to happen in our lives." He paused to look at Meredith, who nodded at him encouragingly. He looked back at Jordan. "There will be a new addition to our family soon."

Jordan furrowed his brow for a moment and then his eyes got wide. "We're getting a dog?" he asked excitedly.

"Well, no, Jordan," Meredith said. "Not a dog."

Jordan sighed. "Then what?" he asked.

"You are going to have a little brother or sister," Derek explained. He and Meredith waited for his reaction.

"What?" Jordan asked blankly.

"We're going to have a baby," Meredith explained. "I have a baby inside my stomach." She smiled at him.

Jordan thought for a moment. "Tommy's mom had a baby in her stomach and she got really, really fat. Then the baby came out and she's still really, really fat," Jordan said. "Are you going to get fat?"

"I…" Meredith paused, slightly taken aback at his question. "I…hope not, Jordan, but I might." She wasn't quite sure what to say after that.

"Bud, Mommy's belly will get big but only because there is a baby growing in there. It will go away once the baby comes," Derek said.

Jordan nodded in understanding. "How'd the baby get in there?"

Silence filled the room as both Derek and Meredith pondered how to answer that question. "Well…" Derek started to say.

"Jordan…" Meredith paused. She sighed and looked at Derek for help.

Derek stood up suddenly and grabbed a pen and paper from the counter and sat back down. He began to draw on the tablet. "Derek," Meredith hissed. "You're not drawing pictures for him are you?"

Derek looked up at her. "I'm a neurosurgeon, Meredith, not a gynecologist. He's a visual learner."

"So you'll draw him pictures," Meredith rolled her eyes. "Smooth moves doctor."

"You have a better idea then?" Derek asked.

Jordan covered his mouth with his hand to hide his giggle, but the sound caused Derek and Meredith to look at him in confusion. "What's so funny?" Derek asked.

"I knew this entire time how that baby got in there, Tommy told me," Jordan informed them. "I tricked you."

"You know?" Derek asked, looking at Meredith who shared the same surprised expression.

"Yep," Jordan nodded. "Ask me how."

Meredith gulped. She hoped that this conversation would not be followed by a birds and bees talk. "How?" she asked.

"God," Jordan said, sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. He gave them a smug look.

"You're…right," Derek said, relief evident in his voice. "God gave us a baby because he knew your mom and I wanted one."

"Right," Meredith agreed.

Suddenly, Jordan's face fell. "Oh," he said flatly.

"What's wrong?" Derek frowned.

"God gave you and Mom a baby. Does that mean that you're the baby's dad?" Jordan asked. The disappointed look on his face was evident.

Derek looked at Meredith, who was looking at Jordan sadly. "Yes, Jordan, I'll be this baby's dad."

Jordan's shoulders slumped. "The baby will call you dad, too, huh?"

"Yes," Derek nodded looked at Meredith.

"Tell him," she mouthed. They'd talked about Derek adopting Jordan someday, but never mentioned it to him. They wanted to wait until the time was right to do it, and there was not a more perfect time to do it than right now.

"Jordan," Derek said, getting his attention. Jordan looked up at him with his sad face. "I'm going to be your dad, too."

"How?" Jordan asked, perking up a little.

"Your mom and I talked about it a lot and I want to adopt you so that you'll actually be my son."

Jordan's face lit up at his words. "For real?" he asked.

"If you want me to be your dad," Derek smiled.

"You bet I do!" Jordan jumped out of his chair, ran around the table and flung his arms around Derek. "Can I be your son tomorrow?"

Derek chuckled and looked at Meredith. She had tears in her eyes. This was another perfect moment to ask Meredith to be his wife. "Some things need to happen before we can be father and son," Derek explained. "First, your Mom and I need to hire an attorney because it needs to go in front of a judge."

"Why?" Jordan asked, giving him a puzzled look.

"Because we need to do it right so that everyone knows that you belong to me," Derek said.

Jordan giggled. "Okay, is that all we need to do?"

"Well, no." Derek said. "There's one other thing."

"What?" Jordan asked, hopping up and down.

Derek reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring his mother gave him. He held it up for Jordan to see. "See this ring?" He heard Meredith gasp.

Jordan nodded and took the ring from Derek's hand. "It sparkles a lot."

"That's right. The last thing that we need to do is up to your mom." Derek explained, not looking at Meredith, but he could hear her sniffling from across the table. "She needs to agree to be my wife so that I can give her this ring and we can get married."

"When you two get married, I'll really be your son?" Jordan asked.

"If your mom says yes," Derek nodded.

Jordan looked at his mother. "Mom, will you say yes and wear this ring and marry Derek so that I can be his son?"

Meredith hiccupped back a sob. "What a wonderful proposal," she cried.

Derek winked at Jordan and got up from his seat. He walked around the table and got down on one knee. Jordan watched them from across the table. "Meredith," Derek said. Meredith looked down at him with her tear streaked face. "I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you say yes and wear this ring and marry me so that Jordan can be my son?" He winked at her.

"Yes," she sobbed, letting him put the ring on her finger. She leaned down and kissed him.

Jordan rolled his eyes at them. They kissed way too much. "This is great!" he said out loud. "Now I have a mom AND a dad!"

**THE END**

**Epilogue to come...with flashbacks...you heard me right. Flashbacks. Like, Glorious Day flashbacks....Yeah...........**


	26. Epilogue: You're Mine

**I just wanted to say that I've enjoyed each and every one of your comments with this story. Your comments were what motivated me to write. I'm glad that you all enjoyed this story from the first chapter and continued reading. If you haven't commented yet, I would love if you would take the time to do so now.  
I'm not sure if I will write another story or not. My life is extremely hectic with three kids. I do plan to co-write a story in the future with my girl, Steph. When? Not really sure.  
**

**Love you all**

And now, without further ado….The end…..  


**Epilogue – You're Mine**

Jordan opened the door to the room across the hall from his. He peered in and quietly (OK, not so quietly) walked into the room. It was quiet, but he needed to say what he had to say. His mom had gone to the grocery store to get a few things and his dad was downstairs doing laundry. There was no better time than the present.

He walked up to the crib and peered in between the bars. "You're finally awake," he observed, crunching on one of the Cheetos that he had in his hand. The baby followed the sound of Jordan's voice and turned her head to look at him. Jordan smiled at his little sister when he saw she was looking right at him. "Hi Megan," he said softly. He reached in between the bars and allowed the baby to grasp his finger. "It's about time you get awake, we need to talk," he said softly.

Megan began fussing in her crib. Jordan looked around the room frantically. He swore that he didn't do anything to her. Suddenly, he remembered what his mom did when she needed her to calm down. His eyes scanned her crib and fell on her pink pacifier. "You need your plug?" he asked, reaching for the pacifier and putting it securely in her mouth. She silenced immediately and continued to stare at him.

"Okay," Jordan said. "Here's how it goes," he said. "This crying…you know, what you do in the middle of the night when I'm sleeping? Well, it needs to stop," he informed her. He paused for a moment. "I have school in the morning," he explained. "And I need my sleep. I'm a growing boy."

Megan looked at him intently as he talked. Jordan's voice was one that she had become familiar with in the months she spent in utero.

"_Right there," Meredith said softly, guiding Derek's hand to the lower part of her enormous stomach. She held his hand there for a moment. "Do you feel it?"_

"_No," Derek said. "Nothing."_

"_She was moving like crazy a minute ago," Meredith said. "Keep your hand there for a minute and I'm sure she will move again."_

_Derek frowned. "Every time I put my hand on your belly to feel her, she stops moving."_

"_No she doesn't," Meredith rolled her eyes. _

_Derek nodded. "She does," he said. "Remember yesterday at lunch when she was moving all over the place for Cristina? The second I tried to feel her, she stopped."_

"_It's just a coincidence," Meredith soothed. "Maybe your touch calms her. Maybe you're the baby whisperer," she giggled._

"_Not funny," Derek groaned. "She doesn't like me."_

"_Derek," Meredith said. "She loves you, you're her Daddy." She ran her fingers through his hair gently. "Jordan!" she suddenly yelled._

"_Why are you calling Jordan?" he asked. "He's in bed."_

"_Jordan can get her to do flip flops by singing her that Beyonce song," Meredith reminded him. "He'll get her to move."_

"_But, Meredith, he's in bed…" he trailed off as Jordan appeared in the doorway of their bedroom. _

"_What?" Jordan asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes. _

"_Jordan, come in here and make your sister move so Daddy can feel her," Meredith smiled. _

_Jordan looked from Meredith to Derek. "I'm not going to get in trouble for being up past my bed time?" he asked hesitantly. _

"_No," Derek replied. "Your mother has apparently lost her mind." He winced as Meredith swatted him on the shoulder. _

"_Sweet!" Jordan yelled, running across the room and flying into bed with them. He crawled up the bed and settled in between them. _

"_Sing the Single Ladies song," Meredith instructed. _

_Jordan giggled and wrapped his arms around Meredith's stomach. "All the single ladies, All the single ladies, All the single ladies, All the single ladies," he sang into her stomach, grinning up at Meredith as the baby began to move. "If you liked it then you should have put a ring on it! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." _

_Derek smiled and put his hand back on Meredith's stomach. He chuckled when he felt the baby move all over. He loved feeling his baby move and how she reacted so much to Jordan. He also loved the fact that Jordan was excited to get a baby sister. He loved his family._

" I need my sleep for lots of reasons," Jordan informed the baby. "One, I have school really early in the morning and the teacher will get mad if you fall asleep at your desk. I never fell asleep, but Tommy did," Jordan giggled. "He had to go to the principal's office. The principal's office is neat. He's got a fish aquarium in there with all these neat fish and a really awesome frog that sticks like a suction cup to the glass." He paused. "That's what I heard anyway," he shrugged. "Another reason why I need my sleep is because I play baseball now. I'm gonna be a professional baseball player when I grow up and I need to get sleep to be able to practice, you know. I can't be tired and be a good baseball player." Jordan looked at his little sister, who had never taken her eyes off of him the entire time he talked. "And another thing," he said, moving closer to the crib. "Okay, this is just between you and me," he said, lowering his voice. "You get mom up all the time at night and she's really, really crabby. If you sleep, she sleeps and then she won't yell at me for things like forgetting to pick up my toys or forgetting to take the gum out of my pocket before she washes my jeans. I mean, she's crabbier now than when you were in her tummy."

_  
"I think it's great the way Seattle Grace has the siblings class," Meredith said to Derek as they drove in their car. "Preparing children for their arriving siblings is important. Right, Jordan?" She turned to look at him in the back seat._

"_I guess," Jordan muttered, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring out the window. _

"_You guess?" Meredith frowned. "You didn't want to come?" Jordan shook his head. "Why not?" Meredith demanded. _

"_Dad and I are missing the Yankees and Red Sox," Jordan grumbled. "We've waited all season for this game."_

_Meredith looked at Derek in the driver's seat. He looked back at her with raised eyebrows. They were missing it. Meredith sighed. "I am so sorry," she snapped. "Why didn't someone tell me that this class was interfering with your little baseball game?"_

_Jordan looked at Derek and then spoke up when Derek didn't say anything. "Because you're crabby, mom," Jordan replied. _

_Meredith gasped and looked at Derek, who remained silent. "I'm not crabby!" she argued._

"_Uh huh," Jordan nodded. "You yell at us all the time, right Dad?"_

_Meredith turned to look at Derek. "Answer the question, Dad," she said._

"_Uh," Derek mumbled, pulling into the hospital parking lot. "I…well…yes," he said quickly._

_Meredith's mouth dropped. "I see how it is," she hissed. "Tell me something, Derek Shepherd, what exactly did you do today?"_

_Derek looked at her briefly. "I…took Jordan to school, had back to back surgeries, had lunch with you, had another surgery and came home."_

"_Right," Meredith nodded. "Ask me what I did today, Derek."_

_Derek gulped and glanced in the rearview mirror at Jordan. He was back at him with wide eyes. "What did you do, Mer?" he asked._

"_Well let's see," she said. "I got up and made your ass coffee, then I went to work and dealt with incompetent residents, met my ungrateful husband for lunch and not once did I get to cut!"_

"_Mer," Derek started. _

"_And," she said loudly, holding her hand up to silence him. "I forgot to mention that during my crappy day, I managed to grow your child. All. Day. Long!" She huffed and turned in her seat, glaring out the window. Everyone was silent for a few minutes._

"_So," Jordan finally said. "Dad, you think we can get the game on the radio?"_

"Hey bud," Derek said, walking into the room and carrying a pile of clean laundry. "She's awake?"

Jordan nodded. "She's staring at me," he said. "Watch this." He walked from one end of the crib to the other. "She watches me the entire time."

Derek chuckled and walked over to the crib. He ran his head over his daughter's soft dark curls. "She knows you're her big brother," Derek explained.

Jordan smiled proudly. "I am a great big brother," he said. "She's lucky she got me because she could have gotten Tommy. He dumped glue all over his little brother's head. On purpose."

"Sounds like Tommy needs to visit the time out chair," Derek frowned.

"Yeah," Jordan nodded. "He loses his recess all the time." Suddenly, Megan spit out her pacifier and started to fuss. "What's wrong?" Jordan asked in panic.

Derek smiled and picked up the baby. "Nothing's wrong," Derek said. "She's just telling us she's hungry." He held her up higher and sniffed. "And she needs a diaper change. Think you can handle this one?"

Jordan scrunched up his nose. "Gross!" he yelled.

"_I am so freaking hungry," Meredith exclaimed, putting her tray on the table. Derek, Cristina, and Mark exchanged looks as they observed the large amount of food on Meredith's plate. Meredith eased herself into her seat and un wrapped her silverware. She scooped up a huge pile of mashed potatoes and shoved them in her mouth. _

"_Long surgery?" Derek asked, watching her with wide eyes._

"_No," Meredith said with her mouth full. "ER all morning."_

"_Mer," Cristina said. "You're going to eat all of that food?" Derek gave her a look but Cristina ignored it._

_Meredith gave Cristina an annoyed look. "Yes, I am," Meredith said. "I'm eating for two."_

"_Our baby needs fed," Derek grinned at her and reached across the table to squeeze Meredith's arm._

"_She's hungry," Meredith agreed._

"_How did your doctor's appointment go today," Cristina asked, watching as Meredith shoveled more food in her mouth. _

"_Okay," Meredith said. "Doctor is concerned with my weight gain, but what doe s she expect? I'm pregnant."_

"_You look great," Derek said. _

_Cristina cleared her throat. "Mark," she slapped him on the shoulder. "Hand me my bag." Mark grabbed the tote bag in the chair beside him and handed it to Cristina. She shuffled through her bag as she searched for something. _

"_What's for dinner tonight?" Meredith asked Derek, shoveling more food into her mouth._

"_Whatever you want," Derek said. Derek would make her anything her heart desires. He loved her and she was carrying his baby. _

"_Meredith," Cristina said, holding up a photo. "Remember this picture?"_

_Meredith frowned and squinted. "I can't really see it."_

_Cristina got up from her place and walked around the table. "Can you see it now?"_

"_Oh, God!" Meredith cried, turning her head away and covering her eyes. "Put that away!"_

"_What is it?" Derek said. "What is it a picture of Mer?"_

"_It's a photo of your wife when she was pregnant with Jordan," Cristina said, handing Derek the photo. "She's about as pregnant in that picture as she is now."_

"_Whoa," Derek muttered, his eyes growing wide. "That's not my wife." He continued staring at the picture._

"_It is your wife," Cristina said, grabbing the photo from Derek and putting it in front of Meredith's face. "Look at the picture, Meredith."_

"_No," Meredith said, closing her eyes tightly._

"_Look Mer, your ass is the size of Texas," Cristina prodded. "Thanks to your beef jerky and cheese cravings."_

"_I'm not looking at the photo, Cristina," Meredith said, shaking her head. "You can't make me."_

"_I want to see," Mark interjected. "I need a good laugh today."_

_Meredith pointed her spoon at him and glared. "Shut it, man whore!" she hissed._

"_How many months did it take you to lose your baby weight?" Cristina asked._

"_Long enough," Meredith said slowly, dropping her spoon. Suddenly, she didn't have an appetite anymore as she remembered just how much weight she gained with Jordan. All sixty pounds._

"_Just thought I'd remind you," Cristina said, moving back to her seat. _

_Meredith looked across the table at Derek, who was staring at her plate. "What?" she asked._

_Derek couldn't get that picture out of his head. He loved his wife and he would love her if she was as big as a house, but if he could prevent it, he would. He grabbed his plate and swapped it with hers. "Here, eat salad," he offered._

"How can a baby smell so bad?" Jordan asked, plugging his nose. "She stunk up the room."

"Bet she feels better," Derek said, scooping the baby up from the changing table and kissing her forehead. Megan started to fuss again. "And now, we take care of the other end."

Jordan followed Derek down the stairs and into the kitchen. He hopped up on the stool as Derek grabbed the bottle of milk that Meredith had pumped before she left and started to feed Megan. "It's all I got till Mommy gets back," he said softly as Megan fussed a little with the nipple.

"I'm back!" Meredith yelled as she slammed the front door. "Derek!"

"We're in the kitchen!" Jordan yelled over his shoulder.

"Hey," Meredith said breathlessly, coming into the kitchen. "I got home just in time."

"She doesn't like the bottle," Derek said, handing the baby to Meredith. "You have what she wants."

Meredith giggled as she carried the baby over to the table, pulled out the chair, and sat down. "I would have been here sooner, but the ferry was running late," she explained, lifting her shirt up and helping the baby to latch on. "My only complaint about living this far out here." They had moved into their new house about a month before Megan arrived. Meredith loved it here; she enjoyed the peace and quiet. Derek and Jordan were in their glory, fishing every evening and taking hikes in the woods. Things couldn't be better. Well, maybe just one thing.

"Derek," Meredith said, adjusting the baby a little. "There's an envelope right there from our attorney that came in the mail today." She pointed to the pile of mail on the table. "I think it's it."

Derek smiled widely and walked to the table. He picked up the envelope and read it. "I guess there's only one way to find out," he said, ripping open the envelope. He unfolded the document and read the first few lines. He looked up at Meredith with tears in his eyes. "He signed," he whispered, handing the papers to Meredith. "Jordan's mine."

Meredith scanned the document and noticed that the line that had Charlie's name printed under it had a signature. Their attorney had gotten in touch with Charlie on the east coast and Charlie signed the document, agreeing to the adoption. He agreed to allow Derek to be Jordan's father, legally.

Meredith's eyes filled with tears. "Wow," she said. "The other paperwork is the court order and the judge signed it today. Jordan became yours today."

Derek nodded, quickly wiping the tears from his eyes. "He's mine," Derek repeated.

"He is," Meredith giggled, moving the now sleeping Megan to her nearby bouncy seat. She moved to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"What's going on?" Jordan said, giving them a look.

Derek and Meredith pulled away and looked at each other. "You tell him," Meredith said.

"Jordan, my man," Derek said, grabbing the papers from the table. "Remember how we talked before about changing your last name?"

Jordan nodded, "We have to wait for the judge to say its okay for me to be a Shepherd."

"Right," Derek nodded. He pointed to the line where the judge signed. "See that?" Jordan nodded. "That's the judge's signature. He says its okay for you to be a Shepherd."

Jordan's face lit up. "Really? I'm not Jordan Grey anymore?"

"You're not," Meredith said, tousling his hair. "What do you think about that?"

Jordan's face suddenly fell. "Crap!"

Derek and Meredith looked at each other. "What's wrong?" Meredith said.

"I'm not a Grey anymore, I'm a Shepherd," he whined.

"Yeah," Derek said slowly. "That's what you wanted, right?"

"Yes, but now I'll have to wait longer for my lunch," he said.

"What are you talking about?" Meredith asked.

Jordan rolled his eyes. "The cafeteria ladies call the kids up by their last names. Kids whose last names start with A though M go first, then N through Z goes last. Now I'll get my lunch last."

"I'm…sorry," Derek said. "Tell you what. As your dad, I will call the school and demand that N though Z goes first sometimes."

Jordan smiled. "Okay," he laughed. "So, you're my dad for real now?"

Derek smiled at him. "I'm your dad for real now."

"I'm yours now?" Jordan asked.

"Yep," Derek said, coming over to him and looking him in the eye. "But you know what's even better?"

"What?" Jordan asked, his eyes twinkling.

"I'm yours," Derek said softly, wrapping his arms around his son and hugging him tightly.

**The End...I hope you all enjoyed the ride...please comment!!!**


End file.
